The World's Greatest Chunin Exam Team
by Dane Namor
Summary: Set a year after the war. Naruto, frustrated at being told he's going to have to miss out on another Chunin exam due to no available teams, seeks to solve the problem himself. The story of an S-Class Ninja forming an equally ridiculous team to compete against Genin. [Some NaruHina] (Complete)
1. Chapter 1

**The Worlds Greatest Chunin Exam Team**

* * *

**A/N **This story started as an idea that was mostly a crackfic, but one I've attempted to play straight. There's plenty of stories that deal with Naruto retaking the Chunin exams, however most of them (for tension I suppose) make him struggle, typically against Genin with Jonin or higher skill level.

Having him struggle in the Chunin exams against other Genin seems ridiculous, so I wanted to experiment with a story that would highlight that. Then at the same time I thought, who should his team be? Hanabi and/or Konohamau are obvious and overused choices... I thought I'd have a little more fun than that.

You can expect minor spoilers for the Manga up to Chapter 628. Story is set after the war.

Other than that, enjoy!

* * *

Tsunade sighed.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was bright, the birds were singing, the peace after the Shinobi Alliance War had all signs of continuing, she had a fresh jug of sake hidden from Shizune, there wasn't even much paperwork stacked up on her desk... At least not enough that she couldn't sneak away for a few hours and enjoy a drink in the warm midday sun.

So, by all respects she should be in a good mood, unfortunately, the one problem she'd been persistently putting off addressing, was now staring her right in the face.

"C'mon Baa-chan! What the hell!?"

She winced slightly at the volume, and yelling at her, of course.

The problem keeping her from a blissful afternoon of drinking, one year after the Shinobi Alliance War, the eternal Genin, Naruto Uzumaki was standing in front of her demanding the answers she owed him. Part of her wanted to smack some sense into the brat and be done with it, unfortunately the guilt she had at delivering the bad news and for her own part in it stayed her hand.

He'd been so happy when she'd called him in too... So happy to hear that Konoha was finally hosting the first Chunin Exams since the war. So happy... Right until she'd informed him that he wouldn't be participating.

The exams themselves were enough of a headache. With the major villages spending so much time getting things back in order after the catastrophic losses from the war it had taken this long to even get started, not to mention that with the new alliances in place all the major villages and most of the minor villages would be attending.

"Don't tell me you need me on another diplomatic mission or something? I just got back a few days ago!"

Naruto had been busy as well she mused; he had somehow become a large factor in sustaining the current peace between the villages. Not only had he made a quite the name for himself, leading the forces towards their final push for victory but thanks to his uncanny knack for making fast friends with anyone he met he'd somehow managed to forge friendships with almost all the major players from any given village.

Beyond simply being famous throughout the Elemental Lands, everyone wanted to speak to Uzumaki Naruto now, anytime new terms of agreements or trade deals were discussed negotiations went much better when he was there escorting the diplomat.

Apparently it was that much harder to try screw Konoha on terms with him standing there grinning that stupid "We're all good people, we should be friends, lets hang out together!" smile of his around the room. Although, the fact that said smile also entailed "By the way I know all the strongest ninja in your village and hold close ties with your leader" didn't hurt.

It seemed these days everyone wanted Naruto as an ally, if for no other reason than everyone else considered him one, to be anything else could be very dangerous.

She sighed again, tuning him out he continued ranting leaving her unable to get a word in edgewise. She took another moment to examine the man before her; it really was hard to believe the little brat had grown so big. He wasn't "that Naruto" anymore, now he was Naruto Uzumaki, the Hero of Konoha, the Orange Flash, the prophesised Saviour...

...The man who, if her reports were to be believed, had apparently told the advisors of the Tsuchikage "Hey, you guys should go easy on Suna! They're having a hard time right now, but they're all good people! You'd all get along well!" completely oblivious to more than 80 years of previous bad blood, ambushes, betrayals and war between those two villages. The fact that he'd then managed to both keep his head and report in "Mission Successful" two days ago fit right into his "surprising" profile.

Deciding the less she thought about that the better she shook herself from her thoughts, it was time to stop stalling. "Naruto" she interrupted, "it's nothing like that. You've got time off for the next few weeks. Actually I'm pulling most of our important ninja back to the village during the exams, you included." it never hurt to stroke his ego a little, she smiled as he puffed himself up slightly, years on and the boy still treated praise as a rare luxury.

"It's simply a matter of logistics" she continued "full teams of three are required to compete and there aren't any eligible teams down a man. We don't have any spots for you."

"Just let me take it alone! I can handle it!" he argued with his usual confidence, although, not unwarranted in this circumstance she admitted "I can use Kage Bunshin for anything that needs multiple people!"

"I considered that as well, but ultimately a Chunin is a leader of a team of ninja. He's a ninja who works with a team, taking the exam alone, ordering Bunshin around, none of that will show off the skills required to lead a team." Her heart ached looking at his disappointment right now "I know this is hard on you, I'm sorry Naruto, I really am." She hated moments like this, for someone who was meant to be the impartial leader of the village she loved that damn brat far too much. Standing in the way of his progress like this pained her.

He pouted and her guilt multiplied watching the last of his exuberance drain away. Grappling with the knowledge that he was being left behind... Again. He opened his mouth to voice another question but closed it without saying a word, suddenly looking as vulnerable as she'd ever seen him, clearly struggling to build up the courage to ask the question weighing on him. For a ninja who spent most of his life blurting out the first thing that came to mind, speaking from the heart more than the head, it was a very rare look... Any other time and she would have found it funny, right now she could barely stand it.

He tried again, his voice barely a whisper this time, "I just don't get why I'm still a Genin y'know... Why everyone else got promoted after the war..." he trailed off, not quite asking the question he'd struggled with every time he'd seen her for the last six months.

She sighed, there it was at last, the elephant in the room, the reason she'd been making an effort to go easy on him lately... The fact that he'd had to watch everyone else be promoted while he was passed over once again. Something he would have never expected from her.

Quite frankly she found the idea that Naruto, an S-Class ninja and unquestionable village asset, was considered a Genin ridiculous. Especially considering his vast (if insubordinate) contribution in the last war, without question, his presence had far outweighed that of any of his peers. Yet in the following months she'd promoted most of the ninja in his year group to either special or full Jonin while he, the only Genin on the frontlines had been ignored.

It was nonsense, he knew it, she knew it and the fact that he'd taken until now to question her about it honestly surprised her. Tsunade wondered whether that from was his trust in her, knowing that she'd never seek to screw him over or if he was simply hurt that he'd been ignored yet again. Thinking for a moment she decided it was probably best not to know.

"I understand your frustrations with this Naruto, I do. To be honest there are a few reasons we haven't moved you up." His eyes were boring into her now, she could see the hope in them, the hope that there was an explanation for this "Quite simply, the most important reason is that you're too valuable to the village for us to give you a standard rank increase."

He looked confused, so she explained "Think about it, you know how the Chunin exams work, the reasoning behind them, drawing in the best clients and the best missions. If we just hand you a promotion then it's done with. On the other hand, if you're able to compete in front of an audience, well, Konoha as a whole looks much stronger. Everyone will be able to see your strength!"

She was playing it up slightly; he was already incredibly famous even if only among ninja, but pandering his ego couldn't hurt. The fact he was rubbing his head and trying not to grin instead of glaring at her was a good sign. "Most ninja saw your strength in the last war, there's already stories and legends being made about you. However for the civilian world, they can't truly understand how much stronger you are from that alone. A civilian hears "S-Class" and just thinks "a very strong ninja", doing this lets them see your strength is incomparable... So, we put you on a stage, you crush anyone that comes at you, pass easily and the village prospers"

Her words had an immediate effect, even with the acknowledgement he got now he still was terribly weak to having his ego pandered to.

"So... You're saying I'm too important for a field promotion then?"

That idea seemed to appease him at least, she decided to drop another hook "Exactly! Not to mention how much it'll add to your credibility as a Hokage candidate!" the effect of that bait was immediate and obvious.

Tsunade smiled, this was going far better than she'd dared hope for, she was feeling less guilty already! She mentally kicked herself, they should have had this discussion months ago. Really, she thought, she should have known he'd take it well enough, this was Naruto she was dealing with! The brat was practically incapable of bearing anyone ill will! If she played it right maybe she'd still be able to sneak out and enjoy some sunshine before Shizune came to see her...

"I'm actually surprised you'd even want a field promotion. I would have thought you'd prefer it this way. You're not the kind of person who wants things gifted to you! I'd expected you to want to grasp this with your own hands!" she tactfully ignored the fact that by now a Chunin qualification was well below him, that he'd earned it in the field, and thus grasped it with his own hands, many times over by now.

"Anyway, it's not like we treat you like a Genin. You haven't done a mission below B rank in months! How many other Genin do you see me giving S-Rank missions too? Hell, how many other Chunin do you see? You get more S and A rank missions than most Jonin!" she softened for a moment "No-one doubts you brat, all a promotion would do is give you more responsibility. I would have thought me training you to be Hokage was enough for you? Do you want to start taking in Genin or something?"

He was all smiles now "Ah, no, well you know Baa-chan! I was just curious! I didn't blame you or anything" he wasn't quite meeting her eyes when he said that she noticed sadly "I just thought, y'know, maybe it was because... With the Kyubei and... Ah, anyway! So I'm too important to be promoted outside the exams? That's fine! I'll just take them and kick everyone's ass! Yeah!"

She winced, so much for wrapping this up and getting a drink... Now they were back at square one. He was mostly mollified but she really didn't want to go through the whole song and dance with him again, she cut right to the chase, "Exactly! Just not these Chunin exams unfortunately, but as soon as we have a team with a spot we'll put you straight in"

"Sure thing! Yeah! And hey, I mean, if something happens or I find a team that'd be fine right?"

This time it was her turn to glare at him "Naruto. If a spot opens or you're able to form a team then that's fine... But I do NOT want to hear about you going around badgering teams to get someone to drop out so you can take a spot!" he balked, she decided that probably wasn't his style regardless and relented slightly "Well, neither Kakashi nor Yamato have any missions right now, so yes Naruto, if you can find 2 other Genin squad mates then either of them can be your Jonin-Sensei and I'd be happy to have you compete."

That would probably be fine she thought and hey, it was Naruto, the brat who made miracles happen. Maybe she would be seeing him in the exams after all, she was fairly sure all the eligible Genin were accounted for, but she'd worry about that later. For now, she'd finally had the conversation she'd been dreading, that deserved a celebration! "Good, so get out of here. I've got important business to take care of before Shizune gets here!" she was already pulling her drawer open.

He didn't believe her for a second but he did leave so she pretended not to hear him laughing at her or calling her an old drunk.

Unfortunately when he was just down the hall she couldn't pretend not to hear him cry out "Ahhh! Hey! Shizune-nee-chan!" Tsunade froze, hand already clenched around the neck of the bottle. Damn. So close. She felt like crying, it could have become such a perfect afternoon.

"Uhhh... Hey, I've been having some trouble with my arm since the last mission, could you come take a look at it for me?"

Grinning as she heard Shizune's confused cries of "What... Now? Huh? Naruto-kun!" as she was dragged away Tsunade remembered why she loved that damn brat.

* * *

A few hours later, after receiving a thorough examination from a confused Shizune, Naruto found himself aimlessly wandering around the village. He was still in a bit of a funk from hearing he wouldn't be able to compete in the upcoming exams and beyond that didn't really have anything to do.

It was a little past midday though so the best course of action he decided would be to grab something to eat and then figure out a plan for the afternoon. Unfortunately even choosing lunch wasn't as easy as it used to be

_'I really feel like Ramen, but Sakura-chan'll be mad if she hears I was at Ichiraku's three meals in a row after she made me promise to cut down... Hmmm, maybe some donburi? Or, hey is that?-' _

"Oi! Hinata-chan!" he called out dashing over to her. Hinata wasn't necessarily the best lunch company, since she didn't talk much and tended to spend most of the meal going bright red. Still, she was a nice girl, he hadn't regretted making an effort to get to know her after the war for even a moment, plus she was a good listener, perfect for venting his frustrations about those damn exams!

"Hey! What're you up to? You free? I'm getting some lunch, come with!"

* * *

Instantly breaking out into the most un-flattering blush and stiffening ramrod straight, Hinata bravely fought down the urge to hide behind the nearest telephone pole.

"N-Naruto-kun?" wincing slightly at that damn stutter she pressed on "Sure, I'm not doing anything important, I'd love to." Truthfully, she'd eaten about a half hour ago and her father was probably expecting her back soon... That was fine though, she'd just get something small! Lunch with Naruto? Her whole body warmed at the prospect.

Hinata was actually very happy with her life recently. Things had settled down after the war which had given her and Naruto time to talk without any daunting threats over their heads. While she knew they weren't necessarily "dating", strictly speaking, per-se... They did spend a lot of time together whenever they were free. He had wanted to get to know her better and she was getting much less shy around him. She barely even stuttered anymore!

The only downside she could think of was with him being so busy these days, always heading off for weeks at a time on one diplomatic mission or another, the times they got to spend together were few and far between. Still, even that wasn't so bad, that was just because people had finally realised what she'd always known about him! Anyway, she knew the Chunin exams were coming up, things would slow down after that.

Her body warmed again at that thought, Naruto must have leave coming up afterwards, and she'd been putting off taking leave of her own. Hopefully she'd be able to take hers at the same time! A few weeks or maybe even a month to just relax in the village with Naruto! No missions, no S-Class threats, no war... Just her and him... Hinata was very proud of herself for not blushing as her thoughts trailed off for a moment there, she truly had grown!

And so, just like she'd promised, Hinata walked side by side with the man she loved making small talk while they ended up deciding on okonomiyaki.

* * *

"Ehh, no way! You're gonna be proctoring the exams?" For someone in the process of shovelling as much okonomyaki in his mouth as possible, Naruto was surprisingly coherent. He knew it probably wasn't the most polite way to eat, Sakura-chan would get mad at him but Hinata-chan never complained and she always seemed happy whenever she ate with him so he enjoyed getting away with it.

"Well... I don't know if I'll actually get to... I'd like to, Hanabi-chan's going to be entering, it'll be her first time... I want to look out for her!"

He whistled, "wow, so mini-Hina's gonna be a Chunin! That's hard to believe, she's so tiny!"

"...She doesn't like it when you call her that Naruto-kun..." Hinata huffed, defending her sister. He just laughed and shovelled more food down. Hinata scolding him! Who would'a thought? "...But yes, she's going to be attempting it..."

"Well she's a nice girl anyway, I like her! And! If she's anywhere near as strong as you were at that age she'll pass first time for sure!" his finger (and chopsticks) were raised to the ceiling to emphasise that last point. "I'll have to watch her matches with you, lets cheer her together!"

Showing just how much she'd improved, Hinata spent less than ten seconds going bright red at the thought of sitting beside Naruto in the stands watching the matches... That would definitely, probably, most likely, count as a date!

That didn't stop her from noticing the slight flaw in his plan though "... But, ano, won't you... Be participating in those matches Naruto-kun?" Hinata thought it was completely silly that Naruto was still considered a Genin, especially after the war. Surely he would be competing this time to finally be advanced?

When she saw his face instantly darken she immediately regretted the question, while it wasn't unusual to see Naruto sulk about something, to see a smile fall off his face that quickly... It was obviously a very sore subject.

"Yeah. I should be, it's stupid... " he twirled his chopsticks searching for words "apparently there's no Genin teams with a spot open and they won't let me enter by myself." He stabbed his chopsticks into the remainder of the food and twisted them around "... Gonna be a Genin for another 6 months at least" he said with a resigned sigh. Baa-chan had made good points (mostly about him being too awesome to get freebie titles), but still, it was hard to accept.

"...Oh..." Now it was Hinata's turn to be depressed. She hated seeing him like this, especially since she knew he didn't deserve it. If she didn't know how close Naruto and the Hokage were, or that he was being groomed as her successor she would have been furious at the lady.

It had been awful after the war, when everyone had received notification of their promotions. She'd rushed to congratulate him, happily told him about her becoming a Special-Jonin and then heard he was still a Genin. He'd taken it much better than most people would, at the end of the day Naruto would always honestly be happy for anyone's achievements, but still, she knew it'd hurt him, she couldn't imagine how hard it would be now for him to just sit and watch the exams.

"I-I'm sorry... That must be, that's terrible." Their previous good mood gone Hinata floundered around desperately for a new topic... Now was probably not the best time to mention how she'd been hoping to team with him for the next Jonin exams after he became a Chunin, with Shino being made Jonin her team had a free spot.

Naruto for his part put just his head on the table and groaned "Urrgh... Yeah. It sucks, I can't believe it!" the full implications were sinking in now "Even mini-Hina's gonna be Chunin before me... Shit!"

It was bad enough he thought, when it was just everyone his age being Chunin and him left behind, even worse with them all Jonin now and him still Genin... Thinking of the kids below him now out-ranking him... No, wait, he definitely didn't want to think about that, he couldn't take it at the moment. Still, he felt bad lying there sulking in front of Hinata, looking up for a moment he could see she was clearly distressed.

"Ah, sorry Hinata-chan" he forced a smile "I only found out a few hours ago, guess I'm still kind'a wound up about it..." another sigh. He didn't want to sit around moping, that wasn't his style, but there didn't seem to be anything else he could do at this stage... Not wanting to vent more at his friend and with no other outlet for his frustrations Naruto's depression quickly turned into a more familiar desire for action.

Decision made, he stood up "Bleh... I'm gonna go train for a bit, let off some steam or something."

He fished out Gama-chan and slapped down a handful of bills "Good seeing you again! Thanks for lunch!"

"Ah... Bye Naruto-kun..." he was already gone, she hadn't thought of anything to talk about and he'd left... Her good mood evaporating quickly she attempted to cheer herself up, Naruto wasn't the type to get depressed over something like this, he'd be okay soon enough. It was a shame their lunch hadn't gone quite as she well as she'd hoped but she'd been having a great time... Right until she'd asked that damn question... "Stupid" she whispered to herself, hanging her head. Was that another chance blown?

A few minutes later, after picking at the remains of her food, she stood to go and suddenly saw how much money Naruto had put down _'oh, he... Paid for my lunch too?'_ and suddenly the warm feeling she'd missed was back at full strength_ 'That means it's a date right? A guy paying for a girl's meal...That's definitely a date! A date... With Naruto-kun!'_ feeling slightly lightheaded and fully aware that all her blood had gone to her head, Hinata left the restaurant in a happy daze.

Truly it's the little things that count.

* * *

It was an uncharacteristically subdued Naruto that was heading to the training grounds.

Typically he had no problem celebrating the achievements of others, he was honestly happy whenever someone took a step closer to their dreams; He wanted to be the kind of Hokage that lead a village where anyone could achieve their dream..

He even liked mini-Hina! She was a nice girl, she laughed at his jokes, she was polite and she seemed to have an easier time talking to him than Hinata did... To be fair, part of him noted, Hinata was a lot better at talking to him nowadays.

Still! "Damnit!" still, thinking of her in a Chunin jacket... He'd be happy for her of course, but still!

_'Goddamn that old hag! Urgh...This sucks!'_ he wanted to scream. He couldn't get the thought out of his mind now, running his hands through his hair in frustration he continued on.

"Hey! It's boss!"

So caught up in his thoughts he didn't even hear the shout, _'Yeah, training is definitely the right idea, I need'a blow off some steam, I can try out that new Rasengan I've been thinking of, blow up some rocks!' _

Thoughts of destruction easing his mind slightly he finally noticed yells coming behind him "Hey! Oi! Boss! Don't ignore me damnit! Bastard!"

Turning he found himself instinctively dodging a jumping kick from his sometimes-student, said students teammates trailing after "Huh? Oh, hey, sorry Konohamaru. Didn't see you guys there, what'cha up to? Finishing a mission?"

Konohamaru, like Naruto typically had sunny disposition and far too much energy, today however, he was practically glowing with excitement, something big was definitely up.

"Nope! We just got back from seeing Ebisu-sensei! We're finally entering the Chunin exams! It's gonna be great boss!" Suddenly pointing a finger directly at Naruto he proudly challenged "This is it! Me and you as rivals for Chunin! This is the start of our fight for the title of Hokage, don't think I'm gonna lose to you!"

And just like that Naruto's day managed to get even worse.

He'd been so wrapped up in thinking of Hinata's sister as a Chunin he'd completely forgotten the other younger team that would have been eagerly awaiting the exams... Konohamaru would be aiming for Chunin... Konohamaru would be a Chunin before him... He quickly cut that image off before it could form, he most definitely didn't want to let that train of thought go any further in his current mood.

"I-I'm... not going to be entering" he admitted the words tasting like ashes in his mouth "there aren't any teams with a spot I can join"

A dark part of his mind considered asking for one of Konohamaru's team to give him a spot but he quickly squished it. Besides the fact Baa-chan had specifically told him not to do that he didn't want to be the kind of person who'd sacrifice someone's progression for his own.

Konohamaru was a good person, a strong ninja, a dedicated leader and all around pretty upstanding boy. Unfortunately, a part of him that he refused to acknowledge had for weeks been dreading facing Naruto in the exams, having drawn the obvious conclusion that Naruto would crush him, there simply was no denying the strength difference.

Most of Konohamaru thought of Naruto like a big brother and was sympathetic towards his obvious frustrations with being held back from promotion once again. If there was no personal stake he would have been angry on Naruto's behalf... Unfortunately, for the part that feared facing his Boss the news was a very welcome relief.

"Oh wow! You're not gonna be entering!?" He cheered aloud "Woo! We're gonna pass easy then, I'm way stronger than you were when you first entered!"

Part of Naruto's mind regarded that as rather unfair; sure Konohamaru was more powerful than he had been if you discounted Kurama. However Kurama and the villager's corresponding treatment of him was a significant factor in why Naruto wasn't as strong as he could have been heading into the exams.

However most of his mind simply reacted with anger and hurt pride...

"Hey! What're you saying brat!? Who taught you your best techniques!?"

And Konohamaru, being in many ways similar to Naruto, reacted the same...

"So what!? Where I learned them doesn't matter, I'm going to surpass you!"

At this point, Udon and Moegi who'd been wisely trying to stay out of this exchange decided to back up. This was not good, this was going to escalate, Naruto and Konohamaru's personalities were too similar, their emotions would feed off each other and get out of control.

"I'm going to be Chunin for sure, then I'll be ranked above you! I'll be the boss!"

"No way! No way! No way can a brat like you make Chunin ahead of me!"

Konohamaru realised he'd struck a weak point and proceeded to start strutting around rubbing it in "I will! And then I'll be your Squad leader on missions. I'll give you whatever order I feel like!" he grinned evilly already envisioning possible ways to abuse his power.

"Wha!?" Naruto was obviously able to envision the same things

"Oh! And then I'll take the Jonin exams and you'll still be a Genin" he smirked going for the kill "Don't worry, I'll take you on as your Jonin-Sensei... Hey, you can start calling me Konohamaru-sensei already!"

"Whaaa!? You goddamn brat!" Unable to even formulate a real reply all he could think about was having to answer to Konohamaru, being bossed around or answering to him for missions. Naruto had worked hard for the respect he'd gained; the images dancing through his head hit his pride hard.

Being passed over, being screwed around with and now having it rubbed into his face, this was too much! This was way too much! He was quickly losing control of himself, his fists clenched so tight his palms were on the verge of bleeding. It would take a lot before Naruto would ever strike a comrade, however he was getting dangerously close to that point.

"**Naruto. Let's go.**" Luckily that was when Kurama weighed in, breaking Naruto off before he did something he'd regret. "**This isn't worth it.**"

Getting control of himself again, Naruto stepped back, unclenching his hands, he let out a deep breath and turned away from Konohamaru. Sure, the kid was an annoying brat at times, but he was also a good friend, he'd feel terrible if he took this any farther.

_'Yeah. Thanks...'_ for the millionth time he thanked the fact he'd been able to made peace with Kurama. For someone who treasured bonds as much as Naruto, having a best friend built right into your soul was very welcome. Plus the bastard fox did a pretty good job of keeping him in check at times like this.

Still, he was far more frustrated now than after talking to Hinata he knew the best plan was definitely to head to the training fields as soon as possible. He'd go wear himself out destroying things until he felt better, or at least was too tired to care.

Avoiding looking at Konohamaru he moved past him and started to walk away, managing to let go of his hurt pride enough to wish them farewell "Oi... Good luck with the exams you kids. I'll be cheering you on, so don't take it lightly."

While utterly failing at keeping the bitterness out of his tone the sincerity in his words was clearly there. He disappeared over the nearest roof with a quick leap leaving Konohamaru looking slightly abashed, avoiding Moegi and Udon's eyes as they glared at him.

* * *

An hour later Naruto was still tearing into a cliffside on one of the far training grounds, sweat pouring down his face as he created new forms of Rasengan on the fly, slamming them into the rocks.

He was currently experimenting with creating a Planetary Rasengan without using the 9-Tails chakra, mostly because it would require so much concentration he couldn't focus on anything but it... Unfortunately he was failing completely. Feeling it fall apart as he charged he quickly transitioned the remaining chakra into a standard Rasengan, dashing forward he slammed it into the rock, drilling a massive crater.

All he could think of was Hanabi and Konohamaru parading infront of him, Chunin vests on, being slapped on the back by all their friends, while he stood back, the Eternal Genin. An S-Rank Ninja stuck at the beginning rank.

"What a fucking joke!" he growled, losing control of his emotions.

Instinctively creating a pair of Kage Bunshin he dashed forward again, this time succeeding at crashing a partially stabilized Plantary Rasengan into the wall, blowing the crater far deeper. Barely a fraction of the damage he'd get in 9-tails mode but he wasn't trying to bring down the cliff.

_'I know I'd have no problems if I could just enter the Exams, but I don't know any other Genin teams!' _

Leaving the rocks alone for the moment he leapt back, this time creating 4 new clones and stabilizing a Rasenkyugan for almost 15 seconds. The resulting blast when he did lose control knocking him back and far across the clearing.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Urgh" He winced skimming along the ground _'...yeah I might have to leave that for 9-Tails mode...'_

_'Could work well with an Uzumaki Rendan though...' H_e filed that away for future practice

His stamina finally depleted and at least some of his frustrations worked out, Naruto was content to just lie on the ground for a moment, feeling his wounds heal. His thoughts inevitably drifting back to the all too familiar topic

_'This'd be easier if I knew more Genin... But everyone has already been promoted already! There's no-one left like m-Wait...'_

Inspiration struck him like a thunderbolt causing him to sit straight upright. Instantly his mind, so wasted on bookwork but so good at schemes, tactics or pranks, started working overdrive...

He thought hard, remembering a half forgotten conversation, spotting a discrepancy, putting together a theory. He was off the ground now pacing around as a plan started to come together, a grin slowly forming on his face, growing bigger by the second.

_'No way... No way... It could work though... Oh man, Baa-chan would hate me though'_ that thought made his grin impossibly wide.

"**Hrmph. You certainly never cease to come up with something unexpected.**"

"OOOOOH YEAH! I'M GONNA ENTER THE CHUNIN EXAMS!"

And with that, all his worries, his frustrations were washed away. Energy was coursing through him, his excitement unbound. He had a plan. An audacious, ridiculous and probably illogical plan, but Uzumaki Naruto had a plan and, as many great ninja had discovered to their peril... That was a very scary thing.

* * *

Despite the excitement raging within him, a half hour later Naruto was sitting calmly at the edge of Konoha territory, becoming completely still and focussing on letting the natural energy flow through him.

For anyone who knew him when he was young it may have seemed bizarre for such a hyperactive ninja to have managed to master Sage techniques at a level beyond even Jiraya the famed Toad Sage, whether it was natural skill or part of his lineage from his mothers' side, he never bothered to question. All he knew was that, even as excited as he was he still gained a great sense of peace and wonder at switching to Sage mode.

Feeling yourself become one with nature, feeling the chakra of all the living beings around you, drawing the energy of the natural world into yourself and feeling it strengthen your own. Sage meditation always filled him with deep contentment.

He spent a half hour just meditating, collecting his thoughts and enjoying the peace he'd gained. Probably more than he needed, but he would want plenty of natural energy for the task ahead.

Shifting out of the meditation his standard personality took over once more "Alright! Lets do this!" he yelled opening his biggest chakra reservoir. Shifting into his perfect 9-Tails Chakra form, his eyes gained a vertical foxlike slit through the horizontal bar of Sage mode and chakra burst forth from him like a supernova, the entire village suddenly aware that something must be going on, anyone even remotely chakra sensitive practically bathing in the warm positive energy let off from Naruto's conversion of 9-Tail's malevolent chakra into his own.

Pumping as much chakra as possible into it he quickly formed 3 Kage Bunshin, each mimicking his form, Sage and 9-Tailed modes combined. They stood in a semicircle around him, each wearing wide grins and radiating enough Chakra to level a mountain range twice over.

He appraised his clones briefly, "Okay, that should be more than enough! Go for it!" pointing off into the distance as he finished.

"You got it boss!" the first clone leaped away to the west at full speed, leaving little more than an orange flash as it zoomed into the distance.

"Damn straight!" the second clone's voice trailed off as it quickly vanished into the east.

"Let's get wild!" the final clone barely more than a blur heading north by the time the words left its mouth.

Conversely the real Naruto withdrew his energy, released Sage mode and calmly walked back the way he'd come.

It was of course against various regulations and rules to leave the village for any reason without explicit permission. To do so was to risk becoming a Missing Nin. Luckily he hadn't actually left the village, a Kage Bunshin ultimately was not him.

So, off he went, hands behind his head and a large smirk on his face, as if he was about to pull off the greatest prank of his life.

* * *

After that life continued like normal, if anyone was paying attention the only clue that something may be up was that he never seemed to create any Kage Bunshin. While normal for anyone else it was an odd sign for someone like Naruto who'd practically made that his calling card, however since he didn't have any missions it was hardly cause for concern, the only one who even seemed to notice was the ever watchful Kakashi.

The first real sign that there might be something going on happened a week later at Ichiraku's. Naruto was happily eating his third bowl while his pink haired team mate blushed at his praise after excitedly telling him about her latest achievement in the hospital.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! That's amazing! You totally saved that guy's li-Urk"

Slumping over, it suddenly seemed as if a great force had just slammed into him. All his energy was knocked out and for a moment he was almost deathly pale. Eyes glazed over he toppled backwards...

Coming to a few seconds later he shook his head and tried to get his bearings. Looking around he realised he'd fallen off the stool and that Sakura was looking over him clearly terrified at his sudden collapse, desperately running diagnostic chakra into him, "Naruto! Naruto! Are you okay? What happened!? What can I do?"

Feeling his strength slowly come back he waved the chakra off and let her help him back up, taking a second to spare a mournful glance at the now spilled ramen... "Ahh, heheh" he scratched the back of his head, not wanting to tell her the whole truth just yet but feeling guilty about worrying her like that "Ah, I'm fine Sakura-chan! Just got a report back from a little project I'm working on!"

Her worries faded slightly as he took his seat again and ordered a replacement ramen. He seemed to be moving alright at least and she couldn't feel anything wrong with him from her cursory examination... Someone like Naruto suddenly keeling over was extremely odd, but he didn't seem concerned in the least. Not with that giant grin he was clearly trying to hide. She was worried for her friend's health but decided to let him play it off for now.

Naruto's thoughts of course weren't conflicted at all _'OH YEAH! ONE DOWN! ONE DOWN! This is gonna be so great!'_ it took considerable willpower on his behalf not to start dancing.

* * *

A similar scene replayed itself two days later while he was training new taijutsu forms with Kakashi. Leaping back to avoid a snap kick suddenly his guard was non-existent, and he was stumbling forward in a daze...Receiving a vicious cross for his efforts.

Shaking his head as the dizziness passed he found Kakashi looking down at him with an odd look. Having worked on the Rasenshuriken with Naruto it was pretty simple to deduce what had happened to knock the sails out of the typically energetic blonde.

The question from there of course was why it had happened, although, judging from the devious smirk that Naruto seemed unable to bring under control he wasn't sure he wanted to know... Still, you don't become a Jonin without being at least somewhat curious...

"You're planning something aren't you?... Something big" It was less a question than a statement

"Ahh, you know me too well Kakashi-sensei... It should be really surprising!"

Yeah... Kakashi decided he definitely didn't want to know. Just because he was probably paid enough to deal with it didn't mean he'd want to. Better to just stay out of whatever Naruto was planning than risk getting caught up in it.

"Well, I'll leave it at that then." Pulling out his book Kakashi hopped away, deciding it best to avoid Naruto until the other shoe dropped.

His departure left Naruto lying there basking in the wonder of a plan that was all coming together.

**"So far, so good brat. I've got to admit, your plan is working out a lot smoother than even I expected."**

_'It's 'cause I'm a genius! No-one else would think of something like this!'_

**"Well, that last part is certainly true"**

"Tch"

He had backup plans of course, other options in case things didn't work out quite as well, but still, he really had hoped and it looked like he wouldn't be disappointed. Now he just had to wait for the final piece of news.

* * *

As it turned out he didn't have to wait long, the final clone dispelling itself a few hours later. Unfortunately his timing continued to be poor, being in the middle of drinking with Shikimaru, Choji and Kiba at the time. The effects of the final clone's dispersal the most disorienting thus far;

"Hahaha! Damn Naruto! You lightweight! Didn't you say alcohol didn't affect you?"

"He's not passed out is he? Tch, troublesome"

"Naruto, Naruto, how many fingers am I holding up?"

Coming to on the floor of the bar he saw his three friends looking over him Choji worried, Shikimaru smirking and Kiba howling with laughter. That almost managed to wipe the massive grin off his face. Almost.

Pushing Chojis offered hand aside he shakily made it back onto the barstool, picked up his glass, slammed the rest of his beer back and turned to his friends. Time to spread the news...

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up boys. More importantly..." he paused for dramatic effect, hooking a thumb towards himself and fixing them with a triumphant glance "I'm entering the Chunin exams!"

"..."

Receiving three deadpan looks in return his smile didn't last long. Not quite the reaction he'd hoped for...

"That's... Uh, that's cool Naruto, congrats" Choji tried to be enthusiastic for his friend

"...Tch" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and went back to his drink. He was happy Naruto would finally leave his Genin title behind but seriously, the whole thing was way too troublesome. Taking an exam for a rank that far below you? What a waste of time.

" Dude..." Kiba pointed to himself, Choji and Shikamaru "we're all Jonin... It's about time, y'know?" Really, all teasing aside, no-one thought less of Naruto for his ridiculously inappropriate rank, still, it was hard to get excited about your friend's dramatic reveal that he was taking a test everyone else had passed years ago.

Naruto slumped back, clearly disappointed with the response.

Seeing this, Kiba continued "Seriously though, I'm glad. It was bullshit you not being able to enter." he paused for a moment to take a long pull from his own glass "Y'know, Mum was pissed when she heard you didn't get promoted after the war. She ended up yelling at a bunch of the council-men"

That perked Naruto up, he hadn't heard that, people had been fighting his case? He'd barely spoken a handful of words to Tsume and she'd fought for him? Suddenly he felt really warm inside.

"My Dad too!" Choji chimed in "The whole Akimichi clan really, he said 'It's shameful for us to ignore a friend who fought so bravely for all of us'"

"Mhmm" Shikimaru added while knocking back the remainder of his glass "...Nara too, most of the clans support you actually. Even the Hyuuga support you and they never openly support anyone."

At that Naruto's jaw was left hanging open, stunned. He knew he was better respected now in the village and being considered the "Hero of the Leaf", he supposed he should have known... But to hear outright that most of the clans supported him, everyone acknowledged him? The implications of that support for his path to Hokage were very clear.

Absolutely dumbfounded at that, he had no clue what to say. Working on autopilot he ended up just chuckling in embarrassment and scratching the back of his head.

Smirking at the typical Naruto response his friends turned back to their drinks. Kiba taking the initiative a few moments later asking "So, who's your team anyway? I thought you said there weren't any teams you could join?"

With that Naruto's triumphant smirk returned "Haha, that's a secret!" at the inquisitive glances from his friends he continued "All I'm gonna say is they're people no-one ever expected to see at a Chunin exam!"

Now that... That was an interesting statement. All three of them puzzled over the meaning,

_'Does he mean a team of Genin washouts? Does he know anyone like that?'_ Choji was confused.

_'He's not drafting Civilians into the ninja forces as Genin is he?' _ Kiba suddenly had to shake the image of Naruto fighting alongside Ayame the ramen lady. It was surprisingly easy to picture actually.

_'Tch... A puzzle? Troublesome.'_ Shikamaru decided to figure it out later.

Seeing their confusion Naruto's smirk was positively evil. Kuarma's chuckling in the back of his head seemed to agree.

Oh there were fun times ahead for sure.

* * *

The weeks passed and before anyone knew it, it was the day before the Chunin exams, a certain air of excitement passing around the village. The foreign contestants would be allowed passage into the village today. For anyone interested it was a good time to head to the main gate and look at the various entrants.

Considering it was the first Chunin exam since the War and thanks to the "Global Peace Accord" the largest by far, the crowd at the gate normally little more than a few punters hoping to eye out some potential good bets was turning into quite an event by itself, stalls had been set up and a significant portion of the village had turned up even if just to browse.

The noise and chatter increased markedly as the first group came within sight of the village; it seemed the first group to be admitted in would be the Genin from the Hidden Cloud. As they drew within sight the gossip quickly turned from interest to surprise and shock... At the head of the contingent, leading the other Jonin-sensei was the famed "Lord Jinchuriki" Killer B! As much for his status as the other remaining Jinchuriki as his actions in the war and his wild personality Killer B was almost as famous as Naruto within the Elemental Countries these days.

It was incredibly surprising to see someone like him coming at the start of the Chunin exams, clearly he was here representing the Raikage himself! For him to make an appearance for the finals would be somewhat expected, but to come for the first day of the event was unprecedented. Most decided it further underlined just how important this "First United Chunin Exam" was.

Soon enough the Cloud shinobi were passed through the gates and dispersed, the teams following their Jonin-sensei to their assigned hotels throughout the village. B himself seemed to be left behind, taking in the sights, looking around.

No-one was sure what exactly he was looking for until a loud cry of "Yo! B!" broke above the crowds hubbub, most turned to see the village's Hero himself jumping down from a nearby building, beckoning B over with a giant smile on his face.

It was quite a spectacle by itself, it was difficult not to notice the loud blonde at the best of times but with Naruto's current popularity within the village everyone wanted to follow his actions. The stories you'd hear about him were almost unbelievable!

Still, although they were easily able to confirm the tales they'd heard of a strong friendship between the two Jinchuriki, the villagers near them had to confess they had absolutely no idea what they were up to. After what seemed like some kind of ceremonial fist bump, they started dancing around each other making wierd seals with their hands and talking in rhymes. That was odd, even for a ninja!

The crowd's attention was drawn to the gate again a short time later as the next group came within sight. This time there was a palpable tension in the air... Watching a contingent of Rock Shinobi drawing close to the village was not a comfortable feeling for a lot of people. For the elder members it brought back terrible memories from the previous War, where the idea of Rock Shinobi sieging on the Village was a constant fear. For the youngsters it was simply fear and tension passed down, everyone knew about the animosity between Konoha and Iwa.

Everyone except Naruto it seemed, for no sooner had the Rock Shinobi been granted entrance than he was yelling out "Hey! Kuro-chan!" and waving their leader over to him and B, the bright smile on his face fading only slightly at having to dodge a hurled stone in response to the nickname.

Now the rumour mill was going haywire! Cloud had sent Killer B on the first stage of the exams, and now Rock had sent in Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter! The person rumoured to be next in line to succeed the title... Not to mention Naruto apparently considered her a good friend, judging by the way he'd quickly introduced her to Killer B and was laughing between them pulling her into their conversation.

Clearly Naruto's reputation outside the village wasn't to be underestimated. They'd all heard the tales but still, you had to wonder just how many Kage level or highly influential ninja was he friends with? It was hard to believe this was the same no-name brat that had for been disdained by the village as nothing but a nuisance and a potential danger...

After that things died down, Naruto and his friends were talking more quietly by themselves. B still seemed to be dancing and judging by the wierd seals his hands kept making, was probably still rhyming. Kurotsuchi had picked up some of the street vendor food and seemed to be mostly just eating, interjecting the conversation every now and then.

It took another hour after the Rock's entrance for the next group to arrive. This time the feeling of the crowd was mixed, watching Sand Shinobi gain entrance to the village for some brought back all too recent memories of their failed invasion. Luckily, for most those feelings were fairly muted at this point, ultimately times had moved on. Since the war both villages had sent teams to each other's Chunin Exams many times. Added to that was the fifth Kazekage, who had proven himself a staunch ally of the Leaf. There were many tales circulating of joined missions with the Sand, both of lives saved and lives sacrificed.

Having seen two of the great villages send their strongest representatives to look over their teams the villages were less surprised to see the Kazekage at the head of the group. Still, it was an incredibly interesting development, the Kazekage himself! On the first day of the exams!

If it had been perhaps Baki "the Unstoppable Blade", or even Temari "the Wind's Scythe" that would have been understandable, but Gaara the Fifth Kazekage coming at the head of his Genin squad. It was beyond unprecedented!

No-one was quite sure what to think about the rumours that the alliance was due in large part due to Naruto, that the Kazekage considered him almost a brother... However a certain credence was given to them when as before Naruto called Gaara over to him, smiling madly and even shook his hand when he arrived (for all his bluster, Naruto was famously terrible at any form of physical contact, most likely due to his upbringing). Some even claimed to have seen the resolutely stoic Kazekage grinning on his way over. That rumour was quickly shut down as an exaggeration..

After that for the next few hours there was a steady stream of minor village applicants. The representatives from Grass, Rain, Waterfall and a handful of other smaller villages. Most of the interest in them was from the people looking to set up gambling odds, aside from a momentarily mournful look from Naruto at the Waterfall Ninja and a thoughtful one at the entrance of the Rain ninja nothing exciting happened.

It wasn't until the early afternoon that the final of the great villages made its entrance, by now Naruto and his group were all seated around a rock table (courtesy of Kurotsuchi), and by all appearances happily trading stories.

At seeing the Mist ninja gain entrance to the village the rumour mill fired into overdrive again, having expected to see perhaps one of the 7 Swordsman leading the group the surprise at seeing the Mizukage herself calmly walking into the village was palpable. Even moreso when once again, Naruto's cries rang out "Heeeey! Mei-chan! Over here!" and once again not only did a Kage listen to him but actually walk over to him and after being introduced, sit down on a newly created seat and join them. It was noted she did threaten to boil him alive for using that nickname though.

It was almost surreal, to imagine that one day "that Naruto", or any ninja would day sitting down, laughing with and entertaining 4 of the most powerful people in the world. Beyond that, the very idea of hosting teams from all the major villages. To be hosting Cloud Shinobi! Even stranger, to be hosting Rock Shinobi! It was almost unbelievable.

And yet, any civilians that were worried or tense at the thought, any retired ninja caught up in memories of a war long past needed only look to Konoha's current ninja forces.

There was no tension in them, there was no doubt, there was just the sure fire knowledge that the world had changed a little over a year ago. These were the forces that had removed their cherished village headband and instead adorned themselves with the title of "Shinobi"

They had bled beside a Rock Ninja, they had screamed for help as a Cloud Kunoichi passed away in their arms, they had risked life and limb to come to the aid of an overwhelmed Mist team.

This feeling, just as much as the sight of the son of the Yondaime making jokes at the expense of the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage was proof of a new age.

* * *

That night found Naruto meditating in his apartment. Having parted ways with his foreign friends to give them time to settle in and recover he had nothing else to do.

He'd already given up on trying to read or distract himself with attempting to make progress on his sealing, quite simply he was too excited to settle down. Tomorrow he'd finally get to unveil his great plan! He'd be finally taking the steps towards getting the title he should have gotten so long ago!

He'd been halfway tempted to head out to the training fields and just try exhaust himself a little, ultimately he'd decided that was probably not the best look on the eve of an exam though. Luckily Sage meditation was a great cure for excitement, he tried to do it anytime he was overly stressed or needed to calm down, it always amazed him just how much value there was in letting his body tune in with nature. Losing himself in the feeling of the energies washing over him, letting them wash away everything else...

Even with Sage mode it was rather difficult to pick out specific Chakra signals in somewhere as dense as Konoha, still, there were some he knew intimately, the signals of his closest friends. That was why he was puzzled as he noticed in the back of his mind a number of them were grouping together _'They're meeting up, is something going on?... Hmm, they're heading this way?'_

And indeed, after noticing it was impossible to ignore, a group of his friends were clearly heading towards his home, seemingly picking up more as they went on. He had no idea what they wanted but that was fine, he always looked forward to spending time with friends, especially when he had no other plans!

Keeping Sage mode active he stood up, feeling them walking up the steps towards his apartment. Chucking slightly to himself as he quietly moved over to his door, feeling their presences draw closer_ 'One benefit of Sage mode...' _waiting for just the right moment... Then suddenly yanking the door open with a loud 'Hey guys!" just as Sakura was been raising her hand to knock.

His sudden appearance and loud greeting sent her jumping back with a startled yelp... Right into Kiba and Lee, sending them flailing back into the rest of the group, which then dragged everyone else down until finally they all landed in a big heap on the ground. Naruto, ever the tactful gentleman, proceeded to stand over them bent in half with laughter as his friends disentangled themselves.

Extending a hand in apology to Sakura and helping her to her feet, wincing slightly as she gripped it harder than was strictly necessary, he decided to break the ice "So, what's up guys? What're you all doing here?"

"Well, what do you think we're doing here?" Sakura replied suddenly cheery "We're here to celebrate you finally entering the Chunin exam!" With that she pushed past him and walked right into his apartment, setting a plastic bag he hadn't noticed till now down on his kitchen table.

"Huh..." Naruto was caught off guard at that

"Yup! We're here to wish you good luck!" Choji grinned happily and followed her in

"Cause we know you'll need as much of it as you can get!" Kiba finished while he laughed and moved inside, his bags clearly containing alcohol.

"Hey!" Naruto tried again, not quite sure if he was objecting to Kiba's comment or everyone just suddenly barging into his house.

"Maybe you should take Forehead with you, if she's gonna be knocking us all over like that..." Ino grumbled as she too ignored Naruto's protests and walked inside, receiving a glare and muttered insult about Pigs from Sakura.

"We're really happy for you" Tenten commented with a smile as she stepped around him

"Yosh! We look forward to seeing your youthful energy during the exams Naruto-kun!" Lee gave an even brighter smile complete with twinkle! All the more impressive when you consider that the sun had already set.

Shikamaru settled for a simple nod as he shuffled in, Shino appeared behind him with with a typically impassive look "We are all here to celebrate with you. Why? Because you are a friend and we know you deserve this rank more than anyone."

It was always a little hard to respond to Shino's way of speaking, so Naruto just nodded dumbly. This was much more than he had expected.

Hinata had been hanging at the back with no idea what to say (you can't exactly thank someone for inviting you inside when you're forcing your presence on them after all) and was otherwise simply excited at the idea of being inside Naruto's place for the first time.

Panicking slightly as she searched for a suitable greeting, Hinata suddenly had Naruto's full attention directed at her, which unfortunately put her on the spot and caused her to lose all vocabulary. She blushed and settled for simply giving him a bright smile and a small bow as she walked in and settled down with the rest of the group.

Normally Hinata would have been berating herself for her weakness; she hadn't been unable to talk to Naruto in months! But right now, she was inside Naruto's apartment, in his living room, on his couch... She'd kick herself later. Right now she was just too happy. So the smile stayed on, even as she attempted to bring the embarrassing blush under control before Kiba started teasing her again.

Naruto was unsure how to respond, they hadn't done anything like this for the last Chunin exam. Clearly his friends wanted to congratulate him and wish him luck, having them all here like this, it was an amazing feeling! So, unable to control the grin now plasted on his face he shut the door behind Hinata, set himself down into the living room with everyone else and started checking out what they'd brought with them.

Sakura it seemed had taken up the position of leader, opening the bags they'd brought and distributing snacks and drinks throughout the room, handing out beer, wine or sake to those that wanted it, juice to those that didn't (and Lee) and organising a loud toast.

As everyone started to get settled in Sakura pulled Naruto aside and quietly explained "Sai's out on a mission for the next few months or he'd be here too" he nodded, that made sense, having been wondering where that guy'd been.

Soon enough everyone was having a good time, Naruto was in an eating contest with Choji, Shino and Tenten were busy keeping anything alcoholic away from a protesting Lee, Kiba was flirting with Ino, Hinata was quietly joining in conversations every now and then and Sakura was trying to make sure Shikamaru didn't fall asleep on them.

Eventually the obvious topic came up and the conversations turned to the Chunin exams, with of course a round of friendly teasing directed Naruto's way.

"You must be worried Naruto, imagine being stuck at Genin for even longer!" even Choji had joined in.

"I'm not worried at all damnit! I'm already an incredible Ninja!" Naruto's patience was never long to begin with.

"Oi! Don't look down on Chunin! We all earned our rank!" Kiba was getting entirely too much pleasure from rubbing this in. "Hmm... Of course, we all got it years ago, so most of your competition will be little brats... You're gonna be playing with kids tomorrow!" he laughed loudly at that.

That comment had its intended effect, leaving Naruto grumbling and reaching for another dumpling. There was no denying it, part of him did feel ridiculous about that, age aside; he was far too powerful for a Chunin exam.

Sakura gave Naruto a loyal smile "Well, that aside, Tsunade-sama thinks we'll probably look to host the Jonin exams not long afterwards, and you've already completed multiple B and A rank missions, so you should be able to go straight through to them!"

"Really?" That bit of news brought his mood back up "That's awesome Sakura-chan! Hah, I'll be a full Jonin before the years out for sure!" Naruto was already imagining how cool he'd look with the Jonin flak jacket on, leading more super dangerous S-Rank missions. "Then we'll see who's laughing eh Kiba!?" Kiba, having been promoted to Special-Jonin was still ranked slightly below a full Jonin.

Naruto's ability to make friends was only second to his ability to annoy them and that comment of course caused tempers to flare (of the room only Shino, Shikamaru, Sakura and Lee were full Jonin)...

"Big talk! You gott'a pass these exams first! Hah, you'll probably funk out of the first test, I heard about your 'Blank Exam' from last time!" Kiba bit first

"That's true Naruto" Ino chimed in now "before you start talking about overtaking us you should make sure you don't end up embarrassing yourself... Losing to a bunch of kids" she was unable to resist that last dig.

"Hey!" Naruto never did well with a bruised ego, things looked about to escalate.

Hinata in the meantime had been struggling to get a word in edgewise as the conversations turned to teasing Naruto. She had improved a lot, able to talk comfortably with him one on one... However in a group it was much harder, the embarrassment multiplied and she ended up second guessing herself till she couldn't get a word out.

Tonight however, with the aid of a little alcohol running through her system she managed to gather up her courage, clench her hands into fists, screw her eyes closed and declare as loud as she could "Naruto-kun will pass for sure!" just as the man himself had been about to bite back a reply to Ino and Kiba.

That declaration stopped everyone in their tracks, all conversation stopping as everyone turned and stared at Hinata... Aside from how out of character it was for Hinata to yell anything, the words had been completely earnest and sincere and yet, completely missing the mood of the conversation. No-one in the room doubted for a second Nartuo would pass the exams, to hear her declare it as if it was a Gospel Truth; nobody knew how to react to that.

Opening her eyes and seeing the entire room staring at her with utter shocked deadpan looks did nothing for Hinata's confidence.

"OH Maaaaaaaan! Even Hinata's making fun of me!" luckily Naruto's emotionally stunted upbringing left him able to misunderstand even complete sincerity and the ice was broken again. This time with everyone laughing and poor Hinata wishing the floor would open up and swallow her... He thought she'd been making fun of him!

Sorrowfully refilling her sake cup she made a silent promise to herself _'I'll do better! I'll talk directly with him even with everyone here, I'll spend time with Naruto before the end of the night!'_ resolve strengthened she tuned back into the conversation.

"So, more importantly than that, how's your team?" Shikamaru had finally decided to contribute

"Ah! They're awesome! We're gonna blow through the first test tomorrow!" Naruto rarely lacked in confidence, only one member of the room having ever seeing him doubt himself.

For the next few minutes he was forced to fend off inquiries as to who his team members actually were. To the rising ire of most of his friends he proceeded to laugh off the question or claim it was a surprise.

"I suppose I'll see them for myself tomorrow, I'm stuck proctoring the first test... It's troublesome" Shikamaru had a pretty decent guess who Naruto had conscripted for his team by now, still, he'd decided to keep his peace and see if he was correct.

"Me too, I-" Hinata chimed in, before being cut off

"Oh right! Yeah, you're there to look out for your little sister right?" Naruto gave her a wide grin, having always wanted a family of his own, people who cared for theirs were at the top of his list of good people. Especially in her messed up clan _'There's probably all kinds of crazy Hyuuga stuff I don't know about going on too.'_

"That's right" She happily agreed, bright red both at having his attention and at him remembering a conversation from so long ago, especially one that'd ended poorly. "She's really excited-"

"I'm looking after the second test" Choji interrupted with a grin, moving the conversation away from Hinata's sister (and wondering absently why he was getting a glare from Shino and Kiba for doing so) "I think most of us got involved in one way or another after we heard you'd be entering."

"Yup! I'm the Examiner for the second test!" Kiba announced, giving up glaring at Choji for interrupting Naruto and Hinata "I signed up as soon as I heard you were entering!"

"Yooosh! Me and Tenten have been selected to assist with the first test!"

"That's right" Tenten confirmed "You're nothing if not interesting to watch, I wanted front row seats!"

"Me and Shizune have been selected as the lead medics for the final exams" Sakura preened slightly, it was quite an honour, especially under the massive international crowd. "And Ino-pig somehow-"

"I was selected as Examiner for the final exams!" Ino finished, clearly very pleased with that selection "Well, after all, it's not like could put your giant forehead in front of such an important crowd!"

And with that the two girls started their typical friendly bickering, Shikamaru sighed and lay back down, Shino hastily removed a glass of sake Lee had somehow swiped and the night continued on with friendly teasing and good humour.

**End Chapter 1**

* * *

**Omake**

"Honestly Kiba..." Hinata chided as she rolled the man in question back onto his side, propping some cushions behind him and putting a blanket over him. Challenging Choji to a drinking contest was never going to end well and of course it had left her looking after him when he'd passed out. "You're sleeping here tonight" she scolded the unconscious youth, there was no way she was going to carry him home.

Still attempting to enjoy the remnants of her own slight buzz, she stepped back into the main room, unfortunately it seemed the party was practically over by now. Ino and Sakura had left an hour or so ago, Tenten leaving a short while later with Lee offering to walk her home.

While she'd been busy with Kiba it seemed fatigue or alcohol had caught up with Shikamaru and Shino, with Shikamaru snoring on the floor and Shino propped up against the wall. Choji was nowhere in sight but the front door had been left open so she surmised he must have stumbled off home. _'Huh...Kiba must have done better than I thought to send Choji home'_ she realised as she closed and locked the apartment.

_'Looks like I'm the last one left. Just me and-'_ Hinata was suddenly hit with the realisation of just who she was the last one with and where she was... _'Me and Naruto... Alone in his house... Ah, Nononono' _She cut that thought off before it could go any further, trying to maintain her composure _'Where is he anyway? Oh no, he's not passed out somewhere has he...?'_

_'Ah' _moving silently through the small apartment, lest she wake someone unnecessarily she finally spotted the elusive blonde sitting in a corner nursing a glass of sake, the bottle open between his legs, apparently in the middle of a conversation with... Himself? _'He's talking to himself? Odd, but- Oh of course'_

"Talking to the Kyubei?" she asked quietly as she sat as close to him as she dared. It was odd sometimes she thought, thinking that Naruto had this whole other being inside him. Still, she was glad he'd made friends with it... _'Only Naruto-kun could turn the dreaded Kyubei, the nightmare of Konoha, into a trusted comrade'_ she thought, suppressing a giggle.

"Hah, yeah." He paused for a second, looking slightly surprised "Huh, he said you should call him Kurama" he seemed amused by this "That's his name" he explained to her confused expression

"Oh? I... I thought you said his name was important to him, that he rarely told it to anyone? He wants me to... Call him... Kurama?" Glad the alcohol running through her system was numbing her response, she felt more like laughing than anything else... The 9 Tailed Demon Fox wanted her to be on a first name basis with it...

"Yup!" he was beaming at her now, clearly he considered this a great honour "He says he likes you!"

The 9 Tailed Demon Fox... Liked her... "Huh" she replied intelligently

He paused for a second again, then frowned, "Well, he says, it's 'cause you almost set him free"

Now that brought her back down to earth, she frowned, remembering that day. She'd fully intended to die then, to die without regret doing anything she could to save the man she loved. The Kyubei had nothing to do with it, she'd never intended at all to release it, she hadn't even known about it then!

Guessing her thoughts Naruto broke her out of her reverie "Ah just ignore him, that's just him being a jerk" he rolled his eyes at that. "No. Seriously, it's 'cause you're you." He was looking directly at her now, slight smile on his face but an otherwise utterly serious expression. It was making her rather lightheaded "For the same reason he's friends with me now. You're like me, you work hard, you're strong, he respects that. It's 'cause of your nindo!"

She couldn't help but be cheered up by that, her nindo. The one she'd taken from the boy she admired and followed with all her strength. The one that had then brought him back from the depths of despair during the last war. Her nindo, their nindo, she suddenly felt incredibly warm, smiling back.

"Okay then" she agreed, Naruto had already acknowledged her, if the Kyubei- if Kurama acknowledged her too, so much the better! "So, what were you talking to K-Kurama about then? Your plans for tomorrow?"

"Hah, nah, I'm not really worried about tomorrow at all!" he laughed at that "Well, its kind'a silly I guess... I was just asking him if he could slow down my healing factor slightly, just for tonight y'know?"

That was surprising, she had no idea why he'd want to do that. Seeing her puzzled look she continued

"Ah, it's just, I can't really get drunk" he indicated the now empty cup he'd been sipping on "I mean I can get a bit of a buzz but it all gets taken care of so fast. I mostly just drink because everyone else is. I've never been drunk, I was wondering what it was like."

That made sense she supposed, "I can understand that, I've never been drunk either, not really" tonight was probably the farthest she'd ever gone, being a little tipsy. Her reasons were different of course; she didn't have a Demon Fox inside her, simply the pride of her clan, the thought of someone seeing her stumbling around drunk. Worse. Her father seeing her stumbling around drunk... She shuddered.

Naruto laughed again, pouring some more sake and handing her the cup "I can't even imagine you drunk. I bet it'd be funny though!" he chuckled a bit more at that, clearly picturing what she'd be like.

Similarly envisioning many terrible scenarios, anything from drunkenly draping herself all over Naruto to passing out in the courtyard of her family estate, Hinata quickly decided she had no plans to get drunk just yet.

Still... She could feel the buzz slowly draining away and it had been so much easier talking to Naruto in front of everyone tonight. So, while telling herself she was far too old to think about things like indirect kisses she raised the cup he'd given her and took a sip.

"Anyway yeah, he was just called me an idiot for even asking. He thinks the whole idea is ridiculous so he doesn't want to talk about it" he snorted at that.

"Well..." she demurred slightly, she could see where he was coming from but still "It's not really good timing though is it? Getting drunk for the first time the night before the Chunin exam?"

"Huh... Yeah I guess that's true enough." He conceded, clearly not giving up the idea though "I'll do it after the exam then, to celebrate!"

She nodded, finishing the cup and handing it back, that seemed fair enough. Celebrations would be expected after the exams.

They stayed like that for the next few hours, trading stories or talking about trivial matters, slowly sipping on the remaining sake, her maintaining a slight buzz and him mostly just enjoying the flavour.

It was a comfortable feeling, they moved closer together, shoulder to shoulder, their conversations getting lower and more muted as drowsiness caught up with them. Hinata, smiling contentedly, her entire body warm and fuzzy with joy finally gave up and fell asleep, slumping sideways and passing out on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto followed suit not long after.

Of course, everyone shifts in their sleep...

Later the next day, after recovering from the shock, Hinata was unable to decide if waking up to find her head in Naruto's lap had been the most mortifying experience of her life... Or the most amazing.

Needless to say she'd spent the rest of the morning bright red and struggling to speak.

_'Thank god I was the first to wake up...'_

* * *

**A/N: **Finally done, editing this took far longer than I anticipated. It shouldn't take long for the finished story to be uploaded though. I've got it planned for three parts probably of similar length to this.

To anyone wondering where Sasuke is during all of this, well, at the time of writing it's not completely sure what his role in the whole enterprise will be. Since he tends to get treated with the biggest kiddie gloves in existence I imagine he'll be welcomed back to Konoha without consequence but we'll see. Regardless he would have had only a small role in the story so I opted to just leave him out entirely.

If you want an in universe reason, then uh, he cut his toe on a rusty nail while renovating his apartment and was unlucky enough to get a mild case of Tetanus. He's perfectly fine and will make a full recovery but he's in hospital for now.

I am assuming at the moment that most of the named characters (Naruto, Tsunade, Kakashi especially) survive the war, Tsunade especially seems rather dicey given the current storyline so if that ends up not happening then consider this AU.


	2. Chapter 2

**The World's Greatest Chunin Exam Team**

* * *

**A/N:** A quick note on some of the reviews from Chapter 1. First of all amazing thanks to everyone who did review, I was shocked to get any let alone positive ones.

Secondly, to those that mentioned there's an OAV that covers this topic: I actually only saw the OAV halfway through planning out this story, having never even heard of it previously. It almost killed my desire to write this just by how infuriatingly mad it made me.

None of it makes any sense, it's completely illogical and it seems the whole story was written just to say "Fuck you" to Naruto. If you haven't seen it and you're anything like me I highly recommend not seeing it. It's not canon, it's not very exciting and it's probably the worst piece of Naruto related media I've seen.

* * *

Sakura was bored, standing around in the examination building watching the exam hopefuls start arriving was a rather dull experience. As a show of status, all the proctors had been asked to attend, technically she could avoid it since she was one of the Head-Medics and not a proctor... Still, she was curious to get a look at Naruto's team. _'To think Naruto was able to keep something like that a secret for this long. I hope he hasn't done anything too stupid...'_

Speak of the devil, Naruto had just arrived, finally able to sate her curiosity Sakura looked around expectantly_ 'Huh... He's by himself? He's not gonna use Kage Bunshin is he? Is that allowed?'_ she giggled at that thought _'It'd be just like Naruto to do something like that. I really hope he can finally become Chunin, whatever he's planned I hope it works.'_

He didn't seem worried at least, so she contented herself to just looking around the room, _'Maybe the surprise is yet to come?'_ she thought, idly monitoring the other Genin. Spotting trouble off to her left she spent a few minutes separating an Iwa and Ame team that had been exchanging heated words, they had all been given strict instructions to head off any hostilities before the exams this time around.

Moving back over to where Naruto had been she was surprised to see he was now making animated conversation with both the Mizukage and the Kazekage _'Odd for them to be here, they don't seem to be talking to their Genin...'_ Surprised by that she suddenly realised they must have both come just to talk to Naruto, she smiled softly at the sight _'Two Kage's seeking you out eh Naruto? You're truely living up to your boasts aren't you?'_

Unsurprisingly it seemed most of the other participants were now looking at the same scene, _'Heh, I suppose it's not every day you see Two Kage's and a living legend this close' _taking a closer look herself she noticed that neither Kage was wearing the traditional robes of office, both were in their standard uniform _'They must hate those stuffy robes as much as Master does, not to mention how hard Shizune has to work to get her to wear that hat' _she suppressed a laugh at that, it seemed all the Kage's were cut from similar cloth... On the other hand, if Naruto ever achieved his goal he'd probably never take either the robes or hat off, envisioning Naruto in the public baths with the Hokage's hat still on his head she stifled another laugh. She really did hope he'd become Hokage, if for no other reason than the fact there'd never be another Hokage like him.

Shaken from her thoughts by a sudden yell she saw the imposing form of Killer B making his way over to Naruto's group, flashing those wierd hand seals he always made before bumping fists with Naruto and loudly declaring "Hey hey, looks like the team's all here! Lets go make everyone else shake with fear!"

'_Wha.. Team? That... Wait, wait...'_

That statement caught everyone's attention, the whole room suddenly went dead silent, all eyes on the group... Naruto, two Kage's and the 8-Tails Jinchuriki... Talking about being a team...

Numb with shock and acting purely on instinct, Sakura elbowed her way through the growing crowd till she was standing in front of the group "Naruto! What, what is this? You can't... THIS IS YOUR TEAM!?" she had no idea what was going on but knew it was going to be bad.

"Sakura-chan! H-" Naruto's jubilant explanation was interrupted as the Mizukage stepped forward.

"Ah, the Hokage's apprentice correct?" Mei offered a slight nod of her head in respect; Sakura had made an impressive name for herself in the medical tents during the last war. Sweeping her hand over her team Mei announced loudly"allow me to introduce my wonderful Genin!"

Ebisu strode forward voicing the question on everyone's mind "Wait, wait... You're their Jonin-sensei? THEY'RE GENIN!?" Sakura absently noted Ebisu was the Instructor for the first exam, his concern was justified.

"But of course" Mei had a predatory look in her eyes now, sizing up the man addressing her "Even a Kage retains their old rank, they petitioned me to lead them as a Jonin-sensei of the Shinobi Alliance and so here we are..."

She inclined her head towards Gaara, "Sabaku no Gaara, Genin of Suna"

"Killer B, Genin of Kumo" she waved a hand lazily towards B

"And of course I'm sure you all know Uzumaki Naruto, Genin of Konoha. " This time guesturing to the blonde standing beside her. Naruto just sat there with a massive grin on his face, looking like he'd just pulled off the con of the century.

"As their Sensei their paperwork was naturally processed in Kiri. Now, I believe the exam is starting soon so" she turned and addressed her team directly "Don't let me down!"

Without even waiting for a response Mei turned and sashayed out of the building. Naruto laughed loudly, obviously enjoying the whole spectacle before leading his team through the shell shocked crowd into where the first task briefing was to begin.

Barely even acknowledging Naruto's "See you later Sakura-chan!" Sakura just stood there mutely beside an equally dumbfounded Ebisu. _'He's done something... Incredibly stupid...'_

The rest of the room seemed to be reacting just as badly, shocked whispers and surprised anger quickly travelling across the participants. One poor girl's panicked shriek seemed to sum up the general feeling "WHY ARE THREE S-CLASS NINJA TAKING THE CHUNIN EXAM!?"

* * *

**Flashback - In the Mountains near Kumo**

Bouncing from rock to rock, Naruto raced along the barren cliffside feeling the last remnants of the 9-Tails chakra leave him, stumbling slightly as he depowered he knew he wouldn't have long left, all he had to rely on now was his Sage Chakra and his own reserves, neither of which would last long over such a distance, being so far from the main body taxed his clone's reserves at an incredible rate.

Still, it wouldn't be long now, he was close to his destination, very close. Having travelled here multiple times in the past on diplomatic missions using Sage Mode to extend his senses and pinpoint the exact location of Kumo was childs play.

And so a little over an hour later a bright orange Blur jumped over the village walls, raced along the roof tops, sprinted up the side of a nearby cliff and with a loud yell flipped through a window right into the Raikage's throne room.

"Yo! Raikage-jichan! Wha-Urk"

As it turns out running straight into the head office of a Kage unannounced at high speed wasn't the smarted possible move. Almost as soon as they'd detected his presence he was surrounded by Cloud ANBU and dodging a reflexive strike from the Raikage himself.

Knowing that taking any damage with his remaining reserves would be disastrous he desperately ducked and rolled away, attempting to create some space and defuse the situation "Woah! Hold up! It's me! Naruto! Woah!"

The words seemed to work, A stopped his attack and finally took a look at who the assumed assassin was, "Huh, Naruto? What're you doing here, bursting in like that! You damn idiot!"

"Haha, sorry!" Naruto had the grace to at least look sheepish, rubbing the back of his head "I'm in a hurry is all, I'm looking for B and I sensed him here"

The Raikage narrowed his eyes, trusted ally or not, this was family "You're looking for B? What do y-"

His questioning was interupted however by the signature sound of terrible rapping "Naruto! You sure know how to make an entrance you crazy fool! What can the great Jinchuriki-sama do for you?"

Ignoring the ANBU still surrounding him weapons drawn, Naruto grinned and walked over to B, rapping a greeting back and bumping fists. Clearly happy for the company, B slung an arm over Naruto's shoulder and they both started to walk off. The Cloud ANBU were unsure what to do, the Raikage just snorted and turned away, Mabui seemed to be the only one to take it upon herself to point out the clear problem "Naruto! You can't just break in here without reason! You don't even have permission to be in the village at the moment! This is an act of aggr-"

"Ah hey... Don't be like that... Naruto's helped us a lot. If he's rushing in it's too important to stop!"

It was frustratingly hard to argue with B, it took time just to process his ridiculous way of talking, even someone like Mabui who'd dealt with him a thousand times still struggled... Letting him escape before she could even formulate a response, which of course left her standing there fuming at the idea of a foreign ninja piercing their defences and no-one even worried! She contented herself with glaring death at the Raikage, cutting off his mirth at her frustration at least.

In the meantime Naruto had followed B to a room that he guessed was an unused office, being in the Raikage's tower it was guaranteed to be at least relatively secure from people listening in. Shutting the door behind him and expanding his Sage Mode senses to ensure there wasn't anyone hiding within earshot he turned to his Jinchuriki companion.

"So boyee what's going down? You ran all the way here to visit my hometown?" B was clearly in a very good mood. Naruto guessed he was hoping he'd get an excuse for another vacation, luckily that suited him perfectly.

"Yeah, see, well it's a bit of a long story. The Chunin exam is coming up in Konoha but there's no team for me" he grimaced slightly at that, it was still a pretty sour taste, but that was why he was here... "So, well look, do you remember when we were talking after the war and you told me not to worry about things like titles, Chunin and such?"

B nodded remembering. It'd been shortly after the war, Naruto had been joking that at the very least he'd get promoted to Jonin if not straight to Hokage for his efforts. B had scoffed at worrying about things like titles and tried to cool him down. Still he wasn't really sure where Naruto was going with this... Did he run all the way to Kumo for philosophical advice?

"Well I guess I wanted to ask you more about it, you said you never properly got any of the ranks..." he trailed off biting his lip in excitement, this was the moment of truth, when he'd find out if his whole trip had been a waste of time and energy. "You were passed over too?"

B considered that, "Eh, that's an old story boyee... It goes back to when I was just a little kid. Playing at ninja then sent to the war cause of how well I did!" Part of Naruto had been secretly hoping the explanation wouldn't be in rap, it wasn't like he never talked normally after all... Still, B seemed to be on a roll today and Naruto wasn't one to look the gift horse in the mouth (too often at least).

"Things got tight, but I worked hard and defeated everyone in sight. HQ, always giving me more and more to do. Before I knew it I was leading teams and training new guys too!"

"No time for exams, till after it settled. By then I'd already tested my mettle. Acting as Jonin all war, no-one cared to test if I was Chunin anymore!"

"Then I became the Guardian and it didn't matter so long as I didn't let anyone in!"

B finished his story, smiling broadly, obviously taking pleasure in having managed to string together so many rhyming verses on the fly. Naruto while impressed was instead concentrating on wrapping his head around the story, holding up a hand when he thought he had it

"So, one sec, making sure I got this right... Uh... You were a Genin during the War and then you guys were too busy with fighting and such to bother with official promotions and afterwards you'd been acting as a Jonin for so long everyone just forgot they hadn't made it official?"

"Yo! That's exactly right. My story, like my life is tight!"

Naruto ignored that part "Well! That's similar to me, sort'a... So, like I said, the Chunin exams are coming up and there are no teams in Konoha that I can join. But! There's never been anything specific that said your team had to be just ninja from your village, with all the new treaties in place I was thinking to make a team of people in the same situation as me! We won't be Konoha or Kumo or whatever, we'll just be Shinobi, like in the war!"

He paused for a second gauging B's reaction. He seemed completely bemused, not sure if Naruto was seriously asking what he thought he was asking. Naruto went for the kill.

"So come join my team! You'll get a Holiday in Konoha" He remembered B being willing to fake his own death for a vacation before, surely that couldn't help but sweeten the deal "and we can finally become Chunin together!"

B just stared at Naruto, the suggestion was completely ridiculous... Go to Konoha to become a Chunin, he hadn't even thought about taking the Chunin exams in over a decade, it was so far behind him it was laughable, but hell, it was funny, _'Shit... It's hillarious'_ he realised... Before he knew it he was picturing just how insane it was, him and Naruto, two S-Class Ninja competing with a bunch of Genin. Thinking for a second, he realised that knowing Naruto the final member would be just as crazy.

He burst out laughing, even Gyuki seemed to be onboard for it, this was a once in a lifetime chance.

"Hell yeah little Kyubei! Lets go show them the might of a Jinchuriki!"

After a few minutes of cheering for joy and a few more of rapping and planning with B they finalised their preparations. Deciding to enjoy himself while he was here, he spent another hour just hanging out with B until he started running dangerously low on chakra and released the jutsu to deliver the good news.

**Flashback End**

* * *

**Flashback - Heading East, along the Kiri Sea**

Skimming as quickly as possible along the water Naruto regretted his hasty departure for the thousandth time. He'd arrived in Port City in record time but had quickly found that the next boat for Uzu and Kiri wouldn't be for another few days. At the time the decision had been so simple _'I'm a ninja, I don't need a boat! I'll just run all the way!'_

Yeah.

'_Great plan'_ he thought bitterly.

It hadn't been so bad getting to Uzu, he'd made it there in a little over a day and while sorely temped to spend time exploring the ruins of his mother's old home he knew that time was of the essence, maintaining a Kage Bunshin for long periods across long distances was almost impossible. Hell, for any other ninja it would be impossible and it would only get harder from there out.

So after taking a light nap he'd leapt back into the waves and headed off for Kiri once more. Again, the decision had seemed so simple_ 'it'll be quicker to just head straight for Kiri instead of heading south east to the mainland or to some of the surrounding islands.'_

As a Kage Bunshin time was of the essence, the faster option was clearly the best... Groaning to himself, he wished for the thousandth time he'd thought that decision out.

The problem, of course, was that while running along the sea was trivial to someone like him, sleeping on the sea was not. It was possible, probably, but he had no practice at it and it would take too much of his reserves to even try leaving him with no option than to stay awake the entire journey. So here he was, blasting along the water at top speed, making great time, but absolutely dead on his feet, with no idea how many days it'd been since he'd last rested.

Still, he consoled himself, at least he should be there soon_ 'So long as I haven't missed it completely...'_as he'd been discovering the last few days, it was very hard to navigate without landmarks. He'd been taught to use the stars and the moon in the academy but he hadn't really been listening.

And so, when, unknowable hours later he finally picked up faint chakra signatures at the far range of his senses he almost burst into tears of joy! Putting forward a desperation effort he drove himself forwards, somehow finally making it to the Kiri mainland. Upon his feet touching dirt he promptly lost his balance, careened out of control and proceeded to fall into a heap outside a fishing village and promptly pass out.

He wasn't sure how many hours or days later it was when he finally woke up, but the first thing he noticed was that it was early evening and second was that he was surrounded by Kiri ANBU. No doubt they'd detected the vast chakra he'd been letting off while sleeping. They heightened their alertness at seeing him start to sit up but didn't make any aggressive moves just yet, aware that while he had arrived in their territory without warning or permission he was both incredibly dangerous and considered (so far) to be an ally.

Pulling himself to his feet while wincing at how quickly his reserves were draining this far away from his real body, Naruto let the last vestiges of 9-Tailed chakra fade away and waved to the ANBU he assumed was the leader "Hey, I need'a speak to Mei-chan. I'm in a hurry."

Without giving them a chance to respond properly he took off, taking full advantage of Sage mode to track down the exact location of the Hidden Village and the Mizukage he was seeking. The ANBU, of course, couldn't just let him just run around like that, luckily they were only just fast enough to keep him in sight, unable to stop or slow him down while chasing after him.

So, trying not to reminisce about his old days being chased around Konoha by various ninja he flew past the marshy terrain, over lakes, around sinkholes and was finally within sight of the hidden village of Kiri itself. Feeling the panicked distress from the ANBU chasing him he felt slightly guilty, knowing they must be worried about a potential threat heading directly for their home, one that had made his intentions to speak to their leader clear... Still, he couldn't afford to slow down just yet. He had no time to waste with ANBU!

He'd only ever been sent to Kiri on a diplomatic mission once before, thankfully with Sage mode and that memory he was able to quickly pinpoint the Mizukage's administrative building and plot a course straight for it. Tearing up the side of the building he rolled through the window, leaped through the doors into the main foyer and... Quickly calmed himself and took a seat.

Feeling his reserves ticking away he was desperately tempted to just burst in and get down to business... But knowing Mei-chan like he did, that was a good way to get boiled to death, so he felt it was probably best to do this at least slightly diplomatically. Any frustration at this was quickly alleviated from the shock and bafflement he could feel radiating off the ANBU a minute later when they arrived to find their quarry patiently sitting with a bored expression on his face.

Ahh, it felt good! It was almost like a prank by itself, part of him missed those carefree days... Of course he couldn't resist messing with people even now.

"Oi! What're you guys doing standing around!? I said I need to speak to Mei-chan! Go tell her I'm here!"

The ANBU captain spluttered unintelligibly, clearly not expecting this. More than a decade in the field hadn't prepared him for an S-Class enemy ninja invading his territory, breaking into his village and then barking commands at him... Even worse, he had to resist his instinctive reaction to follow those orders! The man sitting in front of him had an assured, commanding presence. Just hearing him giving orders he felt drawn back to a year ago when he'd been following this same ninja into battle for the fate of the entire world.

Shaking his thoughts clear he stared down at the boy and desperately trying to think what he would do now... Dare he try take Uzumaki into custody? Dare he leave and go tell the Mizukage that Uzumaki was here? He'd seen and felt just how powerful Uzumaki was, he couldn't stop him but he couldn't just leave him! It was hard to tell which option scared him more. Luckily he was saved from the choice when a new, equally commanding voice piped in

"I am already here." It had taken less than a moment for Mei to realise Naruto was in her village, he was making no effort to mask his presence after all "My, my, Naruto-kun... You came all this way to see me? I wasn't aware we had any business scheduled?" she favoured him a disarming smile.

She honestly liked Naruto, he was a unique puzzle in their world, a ninja who would never do anything underhanded. He was a man who would announce his intentions to fight you before throwing the first kunai. For anyone else the idea was ridiculous, yet somehow he always managed to abide his insane nindo. Still, Mei was nobody's fool... She was cautious, even with him.

"Ah! Mei-chan!" Naruto turned to her, brushing past the ANBU and giving her a smile far too sincere for a shinobi of his calibre.

She tried not to wince at the incredibly disrespectful way he greeted her. It helped that she had seen how he addressed the other Kages. It had been so funny at first. So funny hearing "Baa-chan" and "Raikage-jichan"... Right until he got to know her and promptly refused to call her anything but "Mei-chan".

"We don't really have anything scheduled" he continued "...I wanted to see you though, it's important! I'm putting together a team!"

With that he started walking towards her office, clearly wishing to discuss it in private. Her eyebrow twitched at the sight he presumed to lead her to her own office!?... She took a moment to force herself to calm down, if it was any other ninja she'd wring their necks at such an act, but Naruto was just... Naruto, it'd never even occur to him that he was being rude rude. She sighed. Dealing with Naruto always did this to her.

"And what kind of team are you putting together? What exactly is going on?" she asked moving past him and taking her seat, leaning forward onto her hands to examine him. Mei was actually quite worried at this point, thinking about his words, if he needed the power of the Mizukage for whatever team he was drafting then it must be a catastrophic threat... But then, wouldn't he be here on official business? She narrowed her eyes, definitely puzzling. Biting back the fear rising within her, she wished with all her heart it wasn't another Madara.

"For the Chunin exams!"

Truly, it was a testament of the amazing will and pride held by the Mizukage that she managed to keep her head from slamming into her desk at that remark.

"Y-You... Came to me... About a team for the...Chunin exams?" She wasn't sure if she should be insulted or intrigued. The calculating part of her put this down as good news regardless, her intelligence had been unable to discern if Naruto was participating or not. She had no plans to send out her strongest teams to compete against him if he was, they'd be better off doing missions.

Deciding this time to start at the beginning, Naruto filled her in on the details of the Chunin exams, his barrier to participation and his plan to put together a team of ninja from around the world under a "Shinobi Alliance Team".

He didn't name names but she knew enough about Naruto to know that they would be people with unquestionable power. She was well aware of the kind of circles Naruto ran in these days... There was a reason the leaders across the Elemental Nations listened to this man. He was ultimately a man who could get away with calling the Raikage "Raikage-jichan" and the Hokage "Baa-chan".

Still, while this team of his would definitely be interesting to watch she didn't see how this concerned her "While I appreciate the information of course, I don't see why you've come to me. I was a Jonin even before the civil war and even afterwards I've still retained my rank..."

She let the question drift off, curious what he was after exactly

"Well, yeah, you're a Jonin that's why I came to you! The team needs a Jonin-sensei too!"

Her pride once more stopped her from balking at his incredible request "Wha... But..." she composed herself "I don't understand, there must be hundreds of Jonin Konoha could assign for you. If you so wished, there's any number of Jonin here you could use as well..."

Her mind whirled. She was incredibly adept at political games, she knew there was more to this. It was crucial she understand, lest she decide poorly. Why did he specifically need the Mizukage, why had he come to her, what was he planning? Hundreds of possibilities were quickly inspected and discarded, she couldn't make heads or tails of it, she needed more information! Interest rising by the second Mei leaned forwards, carefully coaching her expression to give nothing away yet carefully entice him to share his plans with her.

He looked away and scratched the back of his head nervously, making no attempt to hide his embarrassment at his reason being caught out so easily. She wondered for a hundredth time how he could be as powerful as he was and still be so damn honest... "Ah, well... Y'see... I didn't want to get someone from Konoha because I wanted it to be a proper, y'know" he made an expansive gesture with his hands "worldwide squad!"

She nodded her acceptance to that, it made sense, but it didn't answer her other question

"And well, heh... I don't really know anyone else in Kiri!" he admitted.

Even the great pride and will of the Mizucake couldn't stand up to that. Slapping her hands onto her face she groaned.

Yeah... That sounded about right. He had no plan. There was no ulterior motive. He didn't specifically need the Mizukage. He'd come to her because he thought of her as a friend.

This was why it was frustrating to deal with Naruto! Even more so as a master of playing in the proper game of subtle politics! Everyone was meant to have an agenda, every statement a triple meaning and every agreement a trap! Naruto was so damnably straightforward it made him impossible to predict! How do you predict an honest man? She had no clue.

The kind of man who would come to the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world and ask her to join his Chunin exam team... For no other reason than because he liked her. She groaned again... Utterly unpredictable.

Still, she couldn't help but appreciate his honest affection for her, she always enjoyed still being appreciated by a man... Not to mention his prestige and the fact he was looking more and more like his father every year... _'Hmm...If he was only a few years older...'_

She quickly dispelled that notion, not risking that thought getting any further, the last thing she wanted to do today was lament her continuing status as a single woman.

Not getting a response from her Naruto barrelled on "Well, it doesn't have to be you, y'know, I could ask Kuro-chan over in Iwa instead! I just thought you might want to tell everyone that this amazing team was reporting directly to the Mizukage!" his obvious attempts at manipulation finished with his trademark cheeky grin.

"Huh... That's not a bad idea really" she admitted, surprised there actually was merit in his suggestion. His team would no doubt be ridiculous... More than that though, his team's participation made it pointless to send more than a token group of Genin, just the ones that needed the experience. There wouldn't be any big clients won for Kiri by Naruto's team stomping everyone... But if she was the Jonin-sensei of that team, if the super team was commanded by Kiri itself... Now that would look good. _'Plus'_ she thought to herself _'it'd be fun just to tweak the Hokage's nose'_ Naruto's actions had made it clear this was going to be a surprise for her, how annoyed would she be seeing her best prospect giving credit to another village... _'Plus it's been so long since I've been to the Land of Fire'_ she looked mournfully at the mounds of paperwork scattered all over her office _'It's a good excuse for a vacation, I've always wanted to tour their hot springs... and I've never tried traditional Fireland Sake'_

Realising she'd just talked herself into it she didn't hold back her laughter, the whole situation was ridiculous, everything about this plan was ridiculous, there was no way she could turn this down.

"Very well! I shall be your Jonin-sensei. I'll process your paperwork here in Kiri myself and we'll keep the details of your participation under wraps until the day of the event. However..." now she sharpened her gaze, pinning him and his joyful expression to his seat "I expect an exceptional performance from you and your team! You're representing Kiri as well, I will not tolerate failure."

Point made she halted her glare, smiled to him and reached her hand over the desk "You accept of course?"

He grabbed it and shook instantly "Yeah! We're a team!"

Mei laughed lightly as he danced around the room, marvelling again at how insane it was that someone like Naruto existed. The very idea of celebrating a successful negotiation visibly was foreign to her, a simple sigh or smile could tell anyone who cared to look far too much about your plans...

He thanked her one last time and then to her great shock disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She stared across her desk, dumbfounded! She'd been dealing with a Kage Bunshin this entire time!? She hadn't even noticed! _'Where is he-how far did he send that clone..?'_

She sighed. Utterly unpredictable.

**Flashback End**

* * *

**Flashback - Somewhere in the Suna Desert**

The final clone had comparatively little trouble, he'd visited Suna many times so he was comfortable with the route there. He made good time zipping over the dunes and was somewhat familiar with the location of rest stops or oasis's he could take a break in and recovers from the heat. It was still far slower than if he had someone from Suna to guide him through the sandstorms or shifting sands, but he made pretty good time.

It also helped that of all the Kage's outside Konoha Gaara was the most familiar with Naruto's antics. So, when Naruto in full 9 tailed mode sped right past the gate guards, scaled the side of the Kazekage's tower and flipped through a window right into the middle of the meeting he was having with one of his Chunin teams Gaara only sighed.

After being sent out and scolded by and irriated Temari about diplomatic relations and why running into a foreign village without any authorisation beyond "everyone knows me though!" is considered rude, he sat patiently for an hour and a half while Gaara cleared time in his schedule for him.

Finally standing in front of his friend Naruto launched into his explanation of the situation and why he'd come.

"I see." Gaara was a man of few words

Naruto nodded "Yeah, and well, I asked around a bit and no-one remembered you going to any Chunin exams after, uh..." he stumbled here, not wanting to mention the invasion "...You know, that one. Back when we were kids"

Gaara noticed his discomfort and felt a slight pang of guilt; it still troubled him sometimes to think of the actions of his people against Naruto's, especially considering how lucky they all were that his part in the invasion had ended up being as minor as it had. Still, now wasn't the time, he moved the conversation along

"It's true. I never did take a Chunin exam after that one. The village was in a dire condition, I couldn't be spared... After meeting you I had changed my outlook, I wanted to try live like you, protecting those precious to me." He smiled at that, it was a nice thought, he'd always been proud of his new nindo, it was still something of an anomaly in the typically harsh "mission first" attitude of the Suna ninja but it was something he'd been actively working to pass onto his village.

"There were no strong candidates for Kazekage, my power was already acknowledged, upon seeing my new outlook and the subsequent control over Shukaku it granted, I was quickly prepared for the position. After that there wasn't time for me to leave the village for an extended period for something like a Chunin exam."

He thought for a moment "To be honest, it's not something I ever really thought about again. At the time the situation was too dire to worry about and afterwards I was already Kazekage, I could always promote myself to Chunin or Jonin at anytime... Still, you wish for my help with this endeavour?"

Naruto grinned, he hadn't known Gaara's official rank (outside Kazekage) for sure, he'd gambled that the former Jinchuriki had like him been too busy to bother with something like that... It was good to see his ridiculous luck at gambling continued to pay off!

"Yeah! Well, I mean, I'd like that sure, it'd be fun! And you'd get to show everyone how powerful you are, it'd be good for the Suna's reputation wouldn't it?"

"Naruto." Gaara shook his head slowly with a slight smile "No-one doubts my power, I've served as Kazekage for years. My exploits are widely known and ultimately I was the General Commander of the Shinobi Alliance forces... Defeating some Genin in a tournament isn't going to help my village at all."

"Ah" Naruto hadn't considered that. While he mostly wanted to become a Chunin out of pride, he did resent being held back for no good reason. Gaara on the other hand wouldn't get anything out of it. He felt a spike of guilt at that; suddenly realising he was being selfish.

"Still. It's something I can do to assist you." Naruto looked up at that "You'll get someone for the spot regardless, as your friend I would like that person to be me" he was shocked, Gaara was smiling broadly... He didn't think he'd ever seen him smile like that, even after the war... Had he been practicing?

Just as Naruto was grinning back Gaara continued "After all, I owe you a lot. Something like this is nothing"

That brought him back down, "No. No you don't... We're friends, you don't owe me a thing" he definitely didn't want Gaara doing this for him out of some kind of obligation.

Gaara was amused; a debt from one of the most powerful leaders in the world just thrown out like it was nothing "Well... in that case I would like to join you for this for no reason other than to assist my friend..." he looked shifty for a second, eyeing the massive stacks of paperwork all around the room "I could use a break regardless. Perhaps I'll leave Kankuro in charge of the village while I'm out."

And with that the remaining tension was broken, Naruto laughing loudly, imagining Kankuro's face when he was told that. He would defiantly not be happy.

He spent a little more time discussing the details with Gaara. When everything was sorted he was invited out to dinner and spent the next few hours catching up with all three of the "Sand Sibblings". Waving goodbye later that night he dismissed himself with a broad smile on his face.

Mission successful!

**Flashback End**

* * *

Finally breaking through the crowd, Naruto smirked at the shocked whispers going on all around them, the assembled Genin struggling to grapple with the fact they'd be competing with him, Gaara and B.

Finding the correct room for the first exam briefing they walked through an open set of double doors, down a short hallway and ended up in a massive amphitheatre. Judging from the amount of teams already inside and those still mute with shock outside he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised by the size of it. Still, it did really hit home now just how many teams there would be participating.

B let out an impressed whistle.

Gaara did some quick estimations "There must be at least 200 teams participating this year, perhaps as many as 300. It seems it will be quite the event."

Surrounded by a sea of unknown faces Naruto managed to retrain his instinctive desire to show off and announce his presence. Everyone would find out about him soon enough without him needing to do anything... Instead they found an empty section and made small talk over the next few minutes, waiting for the rest of the Genin to filter in and the announcement to begin.

Noticing the lack of desks, pens and paper Naruto was privately very happy, it didn't seem like they'd be dealing with an exam, thankfully. Regardless of how much stronger he was now, he still wasn't hopeful about his chances in a paper test.

After enjoying ten minutes of B trying to teach Gaara how to rap the doors to the room suddenly slammed closed! A smokebomb going off on the mains stage quickly drew everyone's attention as it dissipated to reveal Ebisu and a large number of Chunin or Jonin from around the village, assumedly the proctors. Wasting no time, Ebisu stepped forward and yelled for silence before beginning his introduction.

"Hello all. Welcome to the Chunin exams." His authoritive tone of voice suggested this wasn't a time to cheer "This will be a short announcement. Now, first off in case there's anyone with any team members still outside the room... You've failed. All members were required to be inside by the time limit. Following instructions is the simplest part of being a Chunin."

There was a few murmurs through the crowd at that but it didn't seem to have affected anyone Naruto could see, he did laugh a little at the thought of Kakashi failing for such a dumb reason though.

Silencing the room again Ebisu continued on "Alright. Now, Your first task will be a test of infiltration and information gathering. Listen closely because I will not be repeating myself. First, we will now assign you to a briefing station and a time period over the next few days. There's a number of briefing stations all throughout the village and assignments are random, so don't bother following someone else.

Arriving at the briefing station at your designated time you will sign in and be given details of one of a handful of possible buildings to infiltrate. Inside you will find a scroll containing the information you need to find the Second Test. You will have 8 hours from the time you sign in to recover the scroll. To pass, all you need to do is have at least one member of your team open the scroll within those 8 hours. "

He paused, taking a moment to push his glasses up while letting the information settle in. "That's all, no questions. Now, come forward as your team and receive your allocation"

* * *

Team Terumi ended up with a time allotment for later that evening, having nothing important to do in the meantime they'd opted to simply go their separate ways until their rendezvous time.

Meeting up outside Naruto's apartment that evening they followed the directions to the briefing station, still puzzling over the seemingly straightforward instructions for the mission.

"So, an infiltration mission. I gott'a admit, I wasn't expecting that" Naruto was slightly worried, amazing ninja or not, aside from his pranks when younger, he'd never had to do much in the way of infiltration.

"They didn't say we needed to sneak around, I say we just open up and go to town!" B was of a similar mindset it seemed

Naruto considered that, it definitely did seem like an easier solution.

Gaara weighed in "It seems likely they will have posted guards, probably Chunin or Jonin level to assess our stealth and stop us" he thought for a moment "... However unlike the other teams, such guards will be unable to stop us."

That was a pleasant surprise! Naruto grinned, B's suggestion of just throwing overpowered ninjutsu at the problem had appealed directly to his nature. He would never have expected Gaara, the rational member of the group, to embrace it.

Unfortunately just as he was thinking through how he'd go about slamming a Rasengan into the side of whatever building they were using, he realised the problem "Uh... Except we could end up hurting someone like that. Plus Baa-chan would be pissed if we destroyed a building. 'Specially if it was important."

"True true, any guards would be just doing their job. Best if no-one gets laid out like a log"

"Indeed." Gaara was sure he could keep from injuring anyone but B and Naruto's techniques were significantly more explosive and uncontrollable "There would also be a chance of damaging or destroying our objective like that too. Why don't we attempt to sneak in? Then if we run into any problems simply take care of them."

Everyone agreed, that seemed the best way forward.

* * *

A short time later, in the early evening they found themselves standing in front of a large multi story office building, having signed into their briefing station and received a target in the northern side of town.

It wasn't an area Naruto was very familiar with, being far from both his apartment and the academy, he sighed at that, it would have been too much to hope for, for him to already be familiar with the building he supposed.

Currently they were hidden behind the roof of a building down the street waiting to hear back from Gaara's reconnaissance.

"It is as we expected" his quiet monotone breaking the silence as he cancelled his Sand Eye technique. "A number of guards throughout the building, I wasn't able to make out any clear patrol routes but there's at least 3 stationed around the perimeter, two patrolling and one hidden. From their current positions I believe that if we approach from the east we should be able to make an undetected entrance"

"That shouldn't be a big problem. Hmm, or I could create a distraction with Kage Bunshin?"

"It would be best if we avoided that, at the very least that would tell them we're making our move, we don't know what kind of communications they're using"

"We'll get in and out sight unseen. Keep it silent, stealthy, nice and clean!"

"Okay" Naruto agreed as he made to stand up, "Lets go then?"

"Wait" Gaara held up his hand "There's two more things you need to know. Firstly the inside seems to be setup like a maze. This building is clearly designed for this test. Navigation will be difficult, it's possible they want us to split up-"

"Screw that!" Naruto interrupted not liking the idea of wandering through a maze alone "Who cares? If we need to we'll find our own way. Splitting just makes it easier to get lost"

"I agree. In addition, while any of us can defeat any of their Chunin guards without issue it also raises the chances of an alarm. Fighting a number of Chunin or possibly Jonin guards alone without injuring any of them will be difficult."

They were in agreement then, the team would stick together.

"Secondly I wasn't able to get a good look but there appeared to be two places of interest to us. A room I believe is a central control room and some sort of basement or possibly dungeon a few floors below it. I don't know the purpose for the basement but it seems likely our goal will be this central control room."

"Maybe if you get caught you get thrown in the basement. Price of failure if you can't sneak like you're meant"

"Definately possible. However, it could simply be a bluff. If the objective isn't in the control room it seems the best second place to check."

"Alright, we've got our strategy" Naruto announced, glad he had someone like Gaara on the team to prevent him and B from just running headfirst at every problem "Lets get that scroll!"

With that the three silently zipped across the road and started circling around to the east.

* * *

A few minutes later they were hanging off the side of the second floor of the building, Naruto in Sage mode keeping detection for anyone approaching, while B used his lightning chakra to cut a hole large enough for them to slip through out of the wall.

"Woah" Naruto exclaimed under his breath as they stepped in "They've done something to this place, I could feel it was messed up from the outside... But now, it's... Odd..."

"Explain" Gaara requested, using his sand to hold the wall B had replaced back into position

"It's just, messed up, it's like there's these fluctuating signatures coming from all over the place. They've put seals into the walls or something? I don't know... It's really hard to get a bead on anyone though, I can't sense properly at all!" Plus it was starting to give him a headache.

"Gott'a stop sensor types from having it all too easy! Doesn't matter, we'll still get through nice and breezy" B was cracking his knuckles and clearly not too worried about losing their ability to track threats.

"Lets just take it slow..." Naruto whispered as he took point, the others falling in behind him "...Geez, Gaara you weren't kidding, they really did turn this place into a maze"

"No doubt to further impede planning and impose the time limit on us. It seems very likely they have a reason for wanting us to split up... I shall use sand to mark our trail in case we need to backtrack"

"Oh, good thinking!" marking where you were in enemy territory didn't seem that great for an infiltration exercise but Naruto wasn't worried about being sneaky.

"Very handy" B clearly agreed.

Slowly they made their way through the maze. Luckily, it wasn't really as bad as they'd first feared only having to backtrack a few times with many of the branches simply meeting up further along. It did however manage to slow them down and almost resulted in them getting caught by a patrolling guard many times. Their progress was steady but slow.

Naruto estimated they'd probably been inside for around an hour at this point, they still had plenty of time, he just hoped they were heading in the right direction. They'd managed to avoid a handful of guards directly from his hindered Sage mode, unfortunately a pulsing headache from trying to maintain it inside the building had eventually forced him to drop it. Since then they'd been relying simply on general awareness.

Still, despite probably being the least stealthy team (he took solace in the fact that B seemed just as out of his element as he was) things were going well. _'It shouldn't be far from here, probably just a few more corners and we'll be there. This's been pretty easy acut-'_

And of course, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a figure leapt out behind them

"Halt! Intruders!" Wait... That voice seemed familiar "Surrender and you-... Na-Naruto-kun?"

Definitely familiar! Happily turning around, he saw a figure he knew very well taking a worried step back "Hey! Hinata-chan! You're a guard?"

Hinata paled and dropped back into a defensive stance, eyes wide with shock... This was bad, this was very very bad. The teams were meant to have split up, she was meant to pick off one member, not run straight into three Kage-level shinobi "Y-you... You all came together?"

She'd head of Naruto's ridiculous team, she had laughed and smiled at the thought, it was something only he would think up. She hadn't even considered facing that team down. This was definitely the worst case scenario; she took a worried glance at Gaara... Rationally she knew he wasn't the same child who had so callously dispatched the Ame ninja in the forest during the last Chunin exams. Still, she'd had nightmares for months after witnessing that, running into him here as an enemy it was extremely difficult not to remember those scenes... To remember the sand... The picture herself in their place.

Gritting her teeth she refused to let herself remember any more. She had a job to do, she couldn't give up, she couldn't back down, she would follow her nindo. Steeling her resolve, shifted her feet slightly, raising her stance, prepared to leap away from being crushed brutally in a coffin of sand. Still maintaining a defensive posture, she looked Naruto directly in the eyes and addressed his team with far more courage than she felt "Stand down. I've been ordered to detain you, you will not be harmed."

Naruto had actually been quite happy to see Hinata, it was always fun seeing friends at odd times like this! So, before he could respond to her announcement he was shocked when he saw a look of absolute terror flash on her face for a second and for her to suddenly leap backwards, just barely avoiding a tentacle of sand attempting to ensnare her.

Shocked and confused he looked over and saw Gaara stepping forward with a look of concentration, announcing in his usual monotone "I will subdue her."

Quickly he threw his arm out in front of Gaara and held the other up to Hinata in a placating gesture. "Wait, wait! Don't fight" Hinata had become a very close friend to him, perhaps more. There was no way he could stand just seeing her hurt for no reason! While Gaara probably had the best chance of detaining her without injury he'd seen that look of terror on her face, he couldn't do something like that to his own precious people!

"She's our opponent for this test. We have to fight her. Naruto..." Gaara looked over to his friend and tried to reassure him "... I won't kill her" he wondered, did Naruto not trust him?

"No! Look, we can't hurt Hinata-chan..." he grasped for a reason "Plus she's really strong anyway! Fighting her would make so much noise we'd draw all the guards onto us"

This time it was B who shook his head, he had no interest in fighting the girl either... Especially not with a chest like that he noted appreciatively... _'Now if she was just another ten or so years older...'_ he took a moment to picture that, ignoring Gyuki's exasperated sigh in the back of his mind. Refocussing, he turned to Naruto, "It doesn't matter how many of them come. She's an enemy, she can't let us pass. We'll just have to slap that ass!"

That last comment earned him an expected angry glare from both the girl and Naruto. _'Huh'_ catching it just out of the corner of his sight... If B didn't know better he could have sworn he saw Gaara rolling his eyes at him.

Still, the comment did get through to Naruto, who had been about to ask her to back down... B was right, in her situation he wouldn't back down. He was well aware of her nindo, he couldn't ask her to just throw away her pride like that. He could maybe get his team to run... But even if they escaped they'd have to find their way back here, probably just running into her and other guards.

Was there really no choice? He despaired "So you need to capture us then Hinata-chan? We fail if we get caught?"

She stopped for a second at that, considering, "Uh... No" she knew she probably wasn't meant to tell them this "The only way you fail is if the time limit runs out. I-I'm meant to detain you and take you to our holding cells in the basement" giving away information to your enemy so easily... She felt ashamed. It was a terrible habit in a ninja, but she could never ignore questions from Naruto.

"Ah!" he brightened "Well that's fine" that got everyone's attention "We surrender then!"

That statement left Naruto standing hands on hips, beaming his usual "Isn't this great, everything worked out?" smile while everyone else just stared at him dumfounded.

"She detains us, we get taken to the dungeon, and then we just bust out and finish. No-one gets hurt! No problems!"

Gaara considered this, It was definitely a unique solution. It was also probably the dumbest possible solution to their "problem", not to mention it was gambling their entire exam on this. Losing in the first round would be embarrassing. Mei would probably gut them alive.

Still, he sighed sighed, he had known the kind of person Naruto was when he signed up for this. It was one of the reasons he respected the man so much, he never made the so called "terrible choices" people talked about being forced to make. Instead he always found a third option and always forced it to work.

He retracted his sand "Very well."

B just laughed, he'd been expecting something like this. He was pretty sure Mei would castrate Naruto when she heard about it though "Naruto, you're too weak against a pretty face. Instantly jumping at the chance to go to her place!"

Hinata, still overcome with relief at Naruto's announcement, managed not to blush at that innuendo and instead focussed her attention on Naruto and Gaara "Alright... Uh come with me then"

And so the three "prisoners" headed off to the basement...

Naruto walked beside an increasingly uncomfortable Hinata, trying to make small talk and clueless as to why she seemed so depressed.

Hinata struggled to force herself not to just give in and enjoy Naruto's attention _'I'm supposed to be doing my job seriously, not flirting with him!' _she reminded herself_ 'I wasn't even strong enough to do my job properly'_ she dwelled on the embarrassment of a Special-Jonin losing to three Genin but quickly dismissed that idea '_Then again; I doubt anyone could stop this team'._

B amused himself by spinning more innuendo at Naruto and Hinata. They had such strong reactions he couldn't help but tease them!

Gaara walked silently, content to simply ponder the whole situation, before stopping and finally announcing his conclusion "I understand the purpose now." Everyone stopped and looked at him "It's a test of loyalty. Very interesting and very appropriate for Konoha"

Naruto just looked at him blankly, "Loyalty? You mean this test? It's testing our stealth right... Or, uh, do you mean, underneath the underneath?" He looked at B, who just shrugged, obviously thinking something similar.

'_Underneath the underneath?'_ Gaara decided to consider that odd statement later. He could see in the girl's face he was correct "No doubt to an extent this exam is to test our infiltration, however there's more, an important underlying test" he gestured towards Hinata "remember she was surprised that we were together? No doubt they expect us to split the teams. The rules clearly state only one member needs to reach the scroll.

Your friend here is a Jonin, so we can assume that any encounter with the guards will be a defeat for any standard Genin team. Therefore the best chance of success for anyone else is three separate people running through the maze rather than one group together"

He could see dawning comprehension of Naruto and B's faces at that, they were starting to see where he was going with this

"But then the rules also specifically state that we don't fail if we get caught. If the teams are split up no doubt at least one of them will be captured and taken to the basement. The remaining team then has to decide, do they try rescuing them or instead head for the objective."

"Woah... So it's a test of the mission or your comrades" Naruto realised, that setup reminded him of Kakashi-sensei and the lessons he'd learned from the man "Well! It doesn't matter anyway! We'd never abandon a team mate!"

B grinned, that was a pretty similar attitude to his own. Screw the rules; he'd never leave a friend behind. Kumo in general took more pride than normal in stressing treating your team like family, if Konoha was similar he'd only like them more!

Hinata smiled to herself, enjoying herself watching Naruto's determination, feeling the familiar warmth flow through her. He always managed to remind her why she admired him so much, no hesitation, no doubts, it simply never would occur to him to leave someone behind _'For all his brash mannerisms, you'd never meet anyone as caring as Naruto-kun.' _

Gaara had lived in a harsh world most of his life and been Kazekage of a struggling nation after finally finding some manner of peace. As much as he admired Naruto's third way he struggled to truly believe in it. "It is unclear at the moment what the lesson will be. It's possible that the basement is heavily guarded. There's no direct reason why going out of your way to rescue your team mates here would increase your chances of success in this mission. If anything it drastically increases your chances of failure. Perhaps more will become clear soon."

Unsure if he'd been expecting anything else Gaara simply smiled when Naruto reasserted his belief in never abandoning anyone, no matter what stood in your way and still finishing the mission regardless.

Gaara nodded to himself. Even if he couldn't believe in Naruto's worldview, he did believe in Naruto and that was enough for him want to make it true.

* * *

After saying a cheery goodbye to Hinata they settled into their cells, waiting about a half hour before deciding it was about time to break out.

They'd been put in separate cells and relieved of any weapons but beyond a patrolling guard there wasn't otherwise any real enforcement, Gaara had breathed a sigh of relief at not having to worry about chakra restraining seals or similar, B and Naruto hadn't seemed worried at all. He wondered if that was knowledge that such seals wouldn't work against a Biju, or if they simply hadn't even thought about it.

The first order of business was to break out of their cells and meet up, a task that while very difficult for a standard Genin was beyond childs play for them. Naruto, complete with his usual sense of subtlety announced loudly it was time to finish this test and quickly formed a Rasengan to smash into his cell bars. The flying steel crashed all around the basement and probably caused enough noise to alert every guard in the entire building.

B laughed and used his lightning chakra to cut his bars open.

Gaara grimaced and forced his way out with his sand, not bothering to keep it quiet after Naruto's performance.

The patrolling guard had turned out to be a Mizu Bunshin and had been summarily defeated in seconds. That was a definite surprise but from the sounds of more footsteps heading there way there wasn't time to dwell on it.

Raising his hand he blocked the entrance off with a wall of sand, hopefully that would delay anyone heading their way.

"Come! We're going up!"

Giving them no time to question him he formed a platform of sand under their feet and used it to raise them to the ceiling, Naruto understanding his intentions, quickly summoned some clones and formed a Rasengan to smash a hole through.

Sealing the hole with another wave of sand as they passed through it he repeated the process. In no time at all they'd blasted their way through three floors and were back where they should be. Covering the last hole he stopped to get his bearings and catch his breath, he was still good to go but that had required quite a lot of sand, luckily he could see some familiar landmarks "we should be close now. We're back on the floor with the central control room. Most of the guards should still be stuck down in the basement"

"Works out perfectly, a clear run to the prize and no-one for Naruto to surrender us to! Lets get going before they catch up foo'!"

Gaara held up his hand before Naruto could voice his obvious displeasure with that, "At this point" he declared "Stealth would be counterproductive." Naruto and B both looked at each other then grinned at that, who didn't love a chance to go all out?

Soon the hallway was full of Naruto clones forming Rasengan's and B's tentacles whipping around in his Tailed beast form. "Just point us in the right direction!"

And so, after simply destroying everything in their path, a few minutes later they were standing in a surprisingly bare control room picking up what they assumed to be the mission scroll.

B's victory rap was drowned out by the sound of one of the walls behind them collapsing. The floor they were on was an absolute mess, whole walls, doors and corridors left as little more than dust and splinters, the ones that still stood had massive holes gouged out of them.

Naruto smiled broadly. This was the best kind of mission success as far as he was concerned. Everyone had completed the test, no-one had been injured and he'd gotten to cause massive property damage. _'Yup'_ he thought, looking proudly at the destruction around him _'Fun mission'_

His mood was slightly soured at the sight of Gaara blocking off all access to the room with walls of sand, assuring B that there was "No need to take chances." That struck him as slightly unfair, considering they'd practically finished the test now_ 'Geez! You surrender your team one time!'_

Returning his concentration to the matter at hand he cracked the seal on the scroll and spread it open... Then jumped back with a yell as it exploded out of his hands and with a distinct pop his apparent Jonin-sensei was standing before them in a cloud of smoke.

"Mei-chan!? What're you doing here?" Naruto asked, still reeling back from the sudden shock

"You have the directions to the next exam Mizukage-sama?" Gaara decided to try a slightly more tactful route.

"I do indeed Kazekage-sama" she favoured the more polite boy a warm smile and strode towards him, sweeping her gaze over the assembled team, the crumbling wall of sand and the ruined office "Congratuations on passing the first test!"

Gaara gave a contented nod, Naruto and B whooped and bumped fists. It was a small milestone but it was important to overcome regardless.

Regaining control Mei continued "Your next challenge will be in three days from now at training ground 58. It will start at 8am sharp, so make sure you arrive on time"

Pausing for a second to let them absorb that she finished "Aside from that the only other information I have for you is that it will be a test of hunting and survival. So I recommend you brush up any relevant skills in those areas. Now..." She adopted a predatory smile "You summoned me here just as I was about to get some dinner, so why don't you apologise by taking me out and we'll all celebrate your victory today!"

"Yeah!" Naruto whooped "Lets get so-"

"Not ramen!" the other two members interrupted instantly before looking at each other surprised.

Cutting off Naruto's protest B explained "everytime we've eaten with you so far it's been ramen. I want to try new cuisine not the same old bar, man!"

"No need to worry." Mei smoothly assured them "In my time here I've discovered a great deal about the village, including an amazing sushi restaurant you can all treat me too. Come."

And with that Gaara released his walls of sand and Mei made to saunter out of the room... Before stepping out of the doorway and stopping in shock.

"Wha... You..." she couldn't believe her eyes, the place was ruined beyond words. Whirling to look at Naruto she had to ask "Was.. Wasn't this meant to be an infiltration mission?"

He had the decency to look embarrassed not meeting her eyes "Ah heh... Well, you see... Um... We intended to sneak in! We were really stealthy for a while!"

And so, realising that while they'd managed to avoid hurting anyone they'd messed up all the other pre-mission plans they made, Naruto looked again at the devastation he'd caused and came across an important point "Oh shit... Baa-Chan's gonna kill me..." he was deathly pale at the thought of her seeing this.

Any possible response was cut off by the sound of one of the walls behind them giving out completely and a huge section of the building collapsing in on itself with a thunderous crash.

* * *

"Good morning Genin!"

Jolting awake at the loud voice Naruto realised he'd somehow fallen asleep while waiting for the second test to being _'That's what I get for arriving too early... Urgh, I couldn't remember when she said it started though!' _blearily opening his eyes and looking up he saw his team had found him at least, B laughing at him and Gaara shaking his head in exasperation.

Looking around he was surprised to see how many teams had arrived, it was hard to count but there seemed to be at least 100 participating in the second test. A big crowd for sure.

'_Wait... Is that?'_ Looking at the direction of the loud greeting he saw a very familiar sight, a large brown haired man riding a giant dog.

"My name is Kiba Inuzuka, welcome to the second exam!"

'_Woah no way... Kiba's the examiner here? Huh, I think I remember him saying something like that'_

"**Better him than that Snake lady again"** Kurama offered, he hadn't enjoyed the fear of an unstable Jonin cutting down his host anymore than Naruto had.

'_Now that is definitely true'_ Naruto had worked with Anko many times, he knew how skilled she was, how dedicated she was to the village... Still didn't change the fact she freaked him out.

With the various chatter dying down Kiba continued his introduction "Now, before we get started here I want to talk about the true meaning behind the first test!"

That grabbed everyone's attention

Kiba paused for a moment clearly soaking in the spotlight "Most of you here probably had at least one team mate get captured, so you will have noticed you had the choice between going after the mission objective and rescuing your comrade. Now as you're probably taught, you should always prioritise the mission. That's an important lesson, you must complete the mission; however, there are also consequences!"

Seeing comprehension dawning and horror dawning on some of the teams he continued "Of course, you should finish your mission... But you should never leave a comrade behind if you have the ability to save them either. And so! Those teams that left someone behind to jail or death now have to deal with the consequences of doing that, you don't get that teammate for the remainder of your mission!"

Cutting off any protests, Kiba laughed loudly at the shocked group before him "They even made it easy on you! If you'd bothered to check all the prison guards were just types of Clones. Any Genin team would have been able to overcome them! But some of you didn't even try!"

"Ah, I wondered if it was something like that" Gaara looked impressed "So now we understand the full reasons behind the choice of saving or sacrificing your team mate. Very nice, abandon a team mate and you have to deal with being a man down. No doubt most of those here thought of each test as a separate mission not one large one" he nodded his approval, it was a good lesson. Suna may have some of the harshest teachings of the hidden villages but their economic woes meant prioritizing and valuing assets was considered vital to any team. Carelessly abandoning a trained ninja was wasting a huge asset, doing so without proper reasoning was ridiculous.

"SO!" Kiba yelled making himself heard over the shocked cries going on around the audience "Anyone who was still in the cells when time ran out during stage one, you might as well leave! We already know who you are and you won't be getting one'a these!" that said he brandished two headbands one red, one black.

"To those leaving remember who abandoned you. To those staying remember the consequences of abandoning a team mate halfway through a mission." He gave that a second to think in, now! Let's get started on today's test!"

With those words a group of assembled Chunin that Naruto hadn't paid any attention to previously began moving through the groups, passing out the standard death liability waiver he'd seen the last time he'd been at stage two. Looking around while he waited to receive his own form he was surprised at just how many people were eliminated from the first test, at least half of teams were down at least one member, some were down two with only a single person left to complete the exam alone.

He smiled at that, aside from the fact it benefited him, it was nice to see a test that had essentially backed up his own personal philosophy. No-one should abandon their team mates, especially when they had a possibility of rescue. Part of him was sad at seeing so many people had such a different outlook, but hopefully this lesson could change that.

"These waivers are simply to absolve us of any responsibility if you die" he gave a predatory grin at that, Naruto wondered if he was attempting an Anko impression "as for the test itself, I think you'll like it... It's about Hunting!"

'_Yeah, Inuzuka, I should've guessed'_ Naruto just barely managed not to roll his eyes. At least Sage mode would help.

"As you can see there's a number of stations set up around the perimeter. When you hand your forms in you'll be checked to ensure it's the right members competing then given either one of these-" he brandished the black bandanna "-if you're a Hunter and... one of these-" this time he lifted the red bandanna "-if you're the prey!"

Showing amazing restraint Kiba only took a few seconds to grinning maliciously at the younger Genin

"You'll hand your forehead protectors in at the station, don't worry you'll get them back afterwards, and replace them with whichever bandana. It must be secured to your forehead and it must not be removed. That's how we're tracking who's still playing, they've got a seal on them, anyone who loses their bandana is considered dead, so if you lose yours just stay still and wait for our medics to scoop ya up!"

Other than that it's as simple as can be. Red teams are given a scroll with information to get to the tower at the center of the field. You'll be assigned a random gate and have 3 days to get it there.

Black teams will also be assigned a random gate, you'll have 3 days to intercept the scroll from a Red team and bring it to the tower yourself. Oh, and just to make it fun, there's going to be two black teams for every red team... Think of it like competing for information against a foreign village!

Anyone left in the forest after 3 days fails. Get the information to the tower in time or you lose."

Naruto paused for a moment to take it all in, it seemed reasonably familiar to the second test he'd done as a kid. It was different in a number of key ways but relatively straight forward. The biggest potential issue would be the competition between black teams for red team scrolls.

"Red teams will have a 30 minute head start. The test begins one hour from now, I suggest you get to your stations!"

Another wave of shock spread over the crowd at that, a thirty minute head start seemed very small. '_That's a lot of pressure on the red teams'_ Naruto supposed, but then _'on the other hand if you're fast enough it's no pressure at all. Just run straight to the tower'_ looking through the gates to the training ground he somehow doubted it'd be quite that easy.

Giving Kiba a quick wave to show he'd appreciated the speech Naruto turned away and lead his team towards the nearest registration booth.

B had obviously been thinking things through "The lesson from the first test most likely continues here. If you lose your Bandana you're going nowhere"

"You mean if one of us gets eliminated here we won't be able to participate in the finals too?"

"That does seem likely. It would also limit the number of potential matches, I doubt Hokage-sama has any wish to hold too many bouts."

"Well! No problem! We'll just knock everyone out here and keep our bandanas. This is gonna be simple!"

* * *

"You seem surprisingly calm about all this Tsunade-sama"

The woman in question looked up from her work, visibly glad for a distraction "Hmm? I guess so. It's mostly out of my hands at this point Shikamaru."

He grunted, moving over to lean against the wall "I'm surprised you even let Naruto's ridiculous team enter"

She laughed at that "I didn't have much choice really, I told that brat if he found a team I'd let him form one. Plus with so many other Kage's involved it'd be a mess either way."

"Anyway" she reasoned "He's probably doing us a favour here anyway. We've got way too many applicants this year; with the backlog from the war and so many other nations competing. I was getting a headache just thinking of how we would possibly host the Finals... This is perfect! We can just let Naruto clear the field!"

"It's still going to be a pain" Shikamaru pointed out "I saw the numbers for the second test this morning, there's just over 80 black teams and about 40 red teams. That could get messy."

"Hmm, it could. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad though, we're expecting a majority of the fighting to be between the black teams. It should be slim pickings finding a red team, since they'll be doing their best to escape. I've got Shizune and Sakura's medical division on standby but hopefully it won't be too lethal this year."

"Hmm... How troublesome" Shikamaru did some quick mental math "We're obviously not expecting all 40 teams to pass, probably around 30 or so at most. Then I imagine we'll host a team preliminary elimination? That'll knock us down to about 10 to 15 teams, that's still a lot for the final round."

"Ah" Tsunade using the time honed technique of procrastination waved his question off "No point worrying about it. We'll host a second elimination round, or do a battle royale for the final round or something"

Seeing he wasn't going to get anymore plans out of her than that Shikamaru took her advice and stopped worrying. _'Tch... No point making plans anyway really, knowing Naruto they'll just get messed up regardless.'_

* * *

"Bleh, we're black" Naruto complained, a black bandana secured on his head where his forehead protector would normally be "I was kind'a hoping to be red."

They were a few minutes inside the training ground 58, he took a moment to survey his surroundings. Definitely not what he'd expected, he'd been thinking along the lines of the "Forest of Death" but this was far more hills, crags, valleys and rivers. There was plenty of trees and foliage around, it was still Konoha after all, but it was very difficult terrain to navigate. _'That's probably the point'_ he conceded, _'Probably an ANBU training ground or something'_.

The tower in the center loomed far in the distance, seemingly at the bottom of a vast valley. At a guess he thought it'd probably take a standard Genin team almost the full three days to reach it.

Still, they weren't a standard Genin team so there was no reason to act like one. Stopping on a tree branch he held up his hand to halt his team mates "Okay, hold up for a sec guys. Lets make a plan"

"We have a lot of ground to cover and none of us are particularly adept hunters" Gaara calmly pointed out their problem as he landed beside Naruto

"Well, Kurama can probably help me out with tracking"

"**Oh? You need to rely on my power for your Chunin tests?" **Kurama's mocking laughter changed Naruto's mind about that.

"Fine! I'll use Sage mode then!" he bit back, sitting down and beginning to meditate and pull natural energy to himself.

B had his own plan it seemed "We shouldn't limit ourselves to just the teams in red. The more we take out here the easier we can put the third test to bed!"

"I hadn't thought of that" Gaara conceded, considered it "I was thinking to just track a red team down and aim to pass as soon as possible... But, yes, you're right. We should aim instead to remove as many teams as possible from this test."

Looking around he saw a problem though "Although with an area this large to cover we will need to split up. More than one of us against any Genin team is unnescessary regardless" he noted.

"Eh? You guy's wanna take off?" Naruto stood up taking a second to relish the feeling of natural chakra empowering his body, widening his senses to reach out and feel all the chakra signatures around him.

"It's a contest! Whoever gets the most headbands to the tower by tomorrow is the best! The great Jinchuriki-sama Killer B will take care of anyone in the west!"

"I'll head east then" Gaara supplied

"Huh, so, I'll just head North then? Straight to the tower?" Naruto frowned at that, it didn't seem likely he'd run into anyone that way.

"There's plenty of ground to cover in the northwest and northeast, I'm sure you'll find plenty of teams" with that Gaara swiftly jumped off to the east.

"Yeaaaaah! This is gonna be fun! Watch out prey here we come!" B's gave a quick wave and headed off to the west.

'_Huh, Northeast or Northwest eh? Well... Why not both?!' _Kage Bunshin really were the answer to everything.

A second later an excited looking clone was heading off into the northeast and Naruto himself was running up a crag to the northwest.

* * *

"Kicking ass, creating rhymes, this exam is full'a good times!"

B was running down a valley rapping to himself as he tucked a handful of bandannas into his pouch crashing along the terrain. He took a moment to marvel at his luck in managing to hunt down so many teams within only a few hours of the exam. It did leave him feeling a little guilty at defeating teams much weaker than him, but that was the rules of the game and he was playing to win!

He didn't have any specific tracking skills, nothing beyond what he'd learned as a young man for the war. That was fine though, he'd used those skills countless times on the field, he was far better than any standard Genin. The red teams were too focussed on running and the black too intent on chasing. He guessed he'd only been going for a little over three hours and he'd already hunted down two red teams and six black teams.

'_Hmm?' _

Slowing down he focussed on something that had suddenly grabbed his attention. Hastily covered rock, broken twigs and most damning of all a fresh Sandal imprint. They looked to head down along small ravine and towards the tower... He took a second to consider, either the tracks of a group moving too hastily to cover their trail or someone leaving an impressive false trail.

'_Well...Only one way to find out!'_

And so with a whoop he leapt across the rocks, chasing after his latest prey.

A short while later his tracking paid off, moving silently he spotted the team he'd been tracking slouched down among some trees in a small clearing up ahead. Not seeing any need to be stealthy around Genin B simply leapt right into the middle of their group with a loud cry. Noting absently from the bandanas it was another red team.

They were clearly exhausted it, breathing hard and bleeding in multiple places. It appeared he'd caught them in the middle of binding their wounds; most likely they'd barely escaped another fight earlier in the day, which explained the hasty tracks at least.

Flashing them a predatory smirk he gave the team a quick once over, they were all just kids, younger than Naruto even, pausing for a second he noticed that they were all dark skinned, that two of them were holding had swords and he was pleased to note they all seemed to recognise him judging from the dawning looks of horror on their faces.

'_Ah'_ he noted

"You all're from Kumo too eh? Well, hurting comrades never feels right. Why don't you surrender, no need to fight!" he emphasised that last line by drawing a kunai and running a visible amount of lightning chakra through it. No need to fight... But if they tried, it would be over quickly.

The kids, if possible looked even more terrified at that. No doubt they were all familiar with stories of their hero, the great Jinchuriki-sama. B took a moment to preen slightly; he always did enjoy being acknowledged like this. It was one of the few perks of being the Guardian of Kumo.

Just as he was about to repeat his offer of surrender one of them stepped forward. He had short red hair and had covered his body in a brown overcoat, his legs were clearly shaking but his eyes remained hard. Clearly this kid was drawing up his courage...

He gulped, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally speaking up "We're all just surprised to see the man with an octopus in his soul... The power of a raging demon, but Killer B's in control!"

B was shocked. That... That he had not expected. He'd already run into two Kumo teams, they'd either tried to run or just surrendered straight off. This was different! Actually, no, this was great!

He laughed loudly, it echoed throughout the clearing "Your flow sucks kid, you better settle yourself down, let's rap for a while. You can learn from the master Killer B and get yourself some style!"

A few hours later, after sending away his three new budding rap pupils to head for the tower B resumed his quest to clear out the competition.

* * *

Naruto was leaping from tree to tree in a rough northeast direction. The terrain here wasn't too difficult to navigate so he was making good progress hunting down the closest signature he could feel.

It was almost the end of the first day but he doubted he'd manage to maintain Sage mode until nightfall. He wished he'd taken a bit more time to gather nature chakra at the start of the day, even just tracking teams had gotten harder, his senses far less acute with such a limited amount of nature chakra left.

"Still! I've been pretty successful!" he praised himself, it'd been a pretty busy day really, having already defeated six separate red teams and more than two dozen black teams. Sage mode had made it almost too easy, he could track down anyone even remotely near him with perfect precision. Being far faster than any Genin catching up and chasing them down was no trouble at all, even groups with sensors of one kind or another had no chance. He had attempted to make it as impersonal as possible, simply defeating teams before they even had a chance to react. He didn't want to hurt anyone and if nothing else it saved his chakra.

'_Hmm' _as he got closer he could feel a number of signatures coming from up ahead, one in particular stood out to him though... It was vaguely familiar but he couldn't place it. Putting it out of his mind he focussed again and realised there were multiple groups fighting up ahead, _'Well, this'll be the last for now. I'll kick these guys around then take some time to get more Sage chakra. I've still got plenty of energy left it's just a matter of maintaining Sage mode'_

Plan formed, he pushed himself forwards even faster, flipping through the air with an amazing burst of speed.

* * *

Konohamaru in many was was like Naruto.

He was a spunky kid with too much energy and a deeply held desire to prove himself, he didn't take criticism well but was willing to work hard to achieve his goals. Having been inspired by Naruto he had a similar nindo to him and ultimately he had the same end goal, to be the Hokage, to protect the village and those close to him.

Like Naruto his goal had originally been a selfish desire for acknowledgement and like Naruto he'd grown out of it, instead getting acknowledgement through his actions as a ninja and the friendships he'd made.

His signature techniques, the Kage Bunshin and the Rasengan (and technically the Oiroke no Jutsu) were all taught to him by Naruto. He didn't have Naruto's ridiculous chakra reserves to power them with, but he did have good control over the chakra he did have, even despite the high chakra cost they were very powerful techniquest for a Genin to have.

Exactly like his "boss" he'd been ecstatic at the idea of taking the Chunin exams, for the same reason, taking the first step towards being Hokage.

And, unfortunately for Konohamaru, like Naruto in his first attempt at the Chunin exams he would run into an incredibly dangerous S-class ninja...

A chilling laughter was the first sign he had of any danger; it froze him dead in his tracks, a shiver running down his spine. Dread settling in, Konohamaru slowly turned around and saw that his team had already been captured and subdued...

"Well, well, well... What do we have here?"

It was very clear just how much trouble he was in "Oh... Shit..."

* * *

Dashing through the trees, Naruto could tell he was finally getting close to his target. He could hear the sounds of combat coming directly ahead of him, whoever that familiar chakra signature was, they were definitely fighting for their lives!

With that thought in mind he put on a final burst of speed, streaking from tree to tree at near his top pace, barely more than an orange blur to anyone watching. Focussing his senses outwards through Sage mode he judged his proximity to the targets ahead of him, angled himself towards the one in the back, gave one last leap and...

"over the Scroll. You're out-GUAH" crashed right into the poor sap!

"Wooo! Now that's an entrance!" he whooped, crouching on the stunned heap below him. It was always nice to make an impact, judging from the twitches of the guy lying below him he'd left quite an impression indeed!

Standing up he took a moment to look over the clearing, it was a complete mess by now. Kunai and Shuriken littering the landscape with large gouges cut out of the ground or rocks where heavier weapons had missed their mark. Judging from the way the teams were positioned it looked like two black teams had grouped together to hunt down one red team.

The red team looked to be putting up a valiant effort but they were losing badly. One of their members having lost their bandana, lying on the ground unconscious, the remaining two were desperately fending off their assailants.

'_No-one's even noticed me!'_ Naruto pouted... So much for his awesome entrance _'Wait, hey!'_ he suddenly understood the chakra signature that had seemed so familiar while he was tracking this group!

"Hey! It's Mini-Hina! Wow, you made it to the second test!"

That got everyone's attention, the other Genin all turned to look at this man casually walking up them, interrupting their life and death battle, while giving a cheery wave with a bright smile.

"Ohh, you're on the red team. Huh. Looks like you're having a hard time eh?"

Hanabi let out a slight sigh of relief, she didn't know Naruto all that well but she did know her sister thought the world of him, at the very least his appearance and greeting had gained the attention of the three opponents she'd been desperately defending her scroll from, giving her a momentary respite.

She was never quite sure what to think of Naruto, he really was everything the Hyuuga weren't. In some ways she really liked that about him, he was open, he was caring and he made her laugh with his crazy stories...Of course in other ways it also infuriated her. At the very least she wished he'd stop calling her "Mini-Hina"! She was almost as tall as Hinata-nee-chan these days!

Resisting the urge to stomp her foot at that thought, she decided to hope he was here as a potential saviour rather than a scavenger, despite the colour of his headband.

"Naruto-san I-Waoh" anything further she'd intended to say was cut off as she desperately leaned her head back to avoid a vicious slash across the jugular.

"Quick! Get the scroll and let's get outt'a here!" the one who'd just tried to take her head off barked. They came at her even more aggressively than before, clearly they were worried about Naruto's interference and wanted to end it before he could react. Defending herself desperately she forced herself to ignore the wounds she'd already received, focussing on avoiding their weapons, searching for an opening.

Naruto was taken aback by their sudden assault on Mini-Hina. With the exam being little more than a game to him it was easy to forget that for everyone else this test was still life or death.

His rational mind told him that everyone in this clearing was an opponent and he should defeat them all, or at least let them fight it out first. Luckily, Naruto had plenty of experience filtering the rational part of his mind.

"HEY! You bastards wanna fight? Fight me!"

He liked mini-Hina, he didn't really know her that well, but she was Hinata's precious sister that was more than enough reason. Naruto would never sit idly by while someone he cared for's precious person was hurt in front of him.

Hanabi didn't even have even a moment to look over at Naruto after his declaration; with three people attacking her she couldn't spare a thought for anything except a desperate defence, unable to even counterattack. She rolled backwards to dodge a sword slash, pirouetted forwards to avoid a barrage of kunai, twisted her body away from another barrage of sword slashes. Her form was perfect, her stance was strong, unfortunately she was already bleeding and fatigue was fast catching up to her, ducking under a roundhouse kick she was a moment too slow in creating space and caught the follow up kick in the stomach.

"Ghua" all the air rushed out of her as she slammed backwards, landing heavily against a boulder. The pain of the impact and the shock at being winded left her momentarily stunned, her entire body screaming in pain. Looking up she saw her opponent already charging forward to finish her off, eyes set on securing his victory lunging forward to impale her.

She'd only been stunned for a moment, her body's reactions only slowed for a fraction of a second, but that would be more than enough. She had no time to dodge, no time to move, no time even to fear. The perfect example of Hyuuga pride, Hanabi simply glared back at the man about to kill her, refusing to back down for even a moment she glared death at him right until he... Suddenly wasn't there anymore?

"RASENGAN!"

"Huh?" She blinked and looked again, utterly bewildered. Where the man had been Naruto was now standing, arm outstretched holding a quickly dissipating ball of energy... She stumbled forwards and took a moment to look around "Wha?"

Where just a few seconds ago the clearing had been full of combat, now there was nothing. Her teammates were collapsed next to each other with Shinji tending to the injured Yosuke. The teams attacking them had been thrown all around the area, slammed into trees, rocks or even just straight into the ground. None of them seemed like they'd be getting up anytime soon.

'_He... He took them all out in a second...?' _she knew he was strong of course, everyone did, there were a million stories of his adventures, but still, she'd never witnessed anything like that. Not even from her father.

Suddenly she felt herself pulled forwards, felt Naruto wrapping his arm over her shoulder and bringing hers over his, obviously worried about her injuries. Unused to any sort of physical affection Hanabi was shocked to find she had instinctively leaned against him and worse, she was blushing at the contact, her mind was reeling as she was lead back to her team.. Embarrassed, she fought to keep her composure _'I won't be as bad as Hinata-nee-chan! No way!'_

Finally feeling the last of her adrenaline fade away as the fatigue took over, she sat heavily on the ground. Leaning against a tree beside her team mates as she watched Naruto calmly walk around the clearing humming to himself and collecting the headbands of everyone he'd defeated.

Task done he turned and flashed a bright grin "Don't worry, I'll leave you guys alone. I've got plenty of red team scrolls already" he patted his pouch at that "Hinata-chan'd be mad at me if she heard I was picking on her sister anyway!" Laughing at that thought he walked back over to her group and sat next to her.

"Phew... Busy day. I need a break" and with that she watched him shut his eyes and concentrate on his breathing. Puzzled at his behaviour she suddenly noticed the colouring around his eyes _'Is this... Sage mode?'_ she'd heard whispers of the power of Sages and the respect Naruto had gained in attaining it but didn't know any details _'Is that why his eyes..? Huh...'_ She spent a few more seconds examining the odd colouring before sinking back against the rock and relaxing.

Looking at her team brought a smile to her face, very glad they both seemed okay. Shinji going down had been an incredibly scary moment. Yosuke's injuries looked bad but he assured her it only looked bad, they were bandaged now and his movements didn't seem to be affected too badly, he'd be fine to move in a few hours. She nodded, that was good, they could still do this, they could still win.

'_Thanks to him...'_ She thought turning once more to her saviour _'He defeated all of those ninja in a second and then sits here and mediates right in front of us... We're also his enemies but he doesn't even think twice about it, he knows we're not a threat to him even like this'_ she suddenly felt a shudder go down her spine at that thought and was surprised to find herself become slightly warmer, blushing again.

'_I knew he was powerful, but after seeing it first hand... I think... I think I see what Hinata-nee-chan sees in him'_ she thought with a shy smile as she laid back and relaxed, watching him mediate.

She was wrong of course. Hanabi looked at Naruto now and saw his strength. Hinata had been looking at Naruto most of her life, she loved him for his weaknesses and his will to change them.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Northwest side of the training ground the real Naruto was standing with his hands on his hips looking down at the terrified Genin ahead of him, sorely tempted to let out another evil laugh.

Putting on his most devious smirk he slowly stepped forwards "Konohamaru... Fancy meeting you here!"

"B-boss! What're you doing here?" Konohamaru stumbled backwards, looking desperately for any support he could get, unfortunately his teammates were both being securely held by Naruto's clones...

"What do you mean what am I doing here? Wasn't this our rivalry for Chunin? Weren't you going to become a Squad leader and boss me around?" Naruto pulled out a kunai and started twirling it around his finger as he continued to stride towards the boy.

"Didn't you say you'd surpass me? Eh...Konohamaru-sensei?" lacing the title with as much sarcasm as he could muster he stopped directly in front of the reeling Genin, using his height to leaning down over him.

"C'mon boss hah..hah... You're not mad about that still are you? Hah, c'mon! We're friends, you'll let us go right? Boss?"

His only response was a smirk that was positively dripping with malice.

"Hah...Hah.. Boss?"

A few very enjoyable minutes later Naruto was happily brushing his hands together at a job well done. Looking skywards at the sight of the three Genin dangling from a rope tied far up a tall tree he smiled contentedly, glad he hadn't done any real damage. Moegi and Udon were just dazed, not having put up much of a fight. Although to be fair, Moegi had tried to rub up against the clone that'd been holding her _'Trying to seduce me... She really does take this most beautiful kunoichi thing too far'_ he suppressed a shudder. Udon had just let himself get knocked out, unable to break Naruto's hold.

Konohamaru on the other hand, while conscious had clearly been roughed up. He hadn't wanted to be too mean to the little brat, but still, throwing him around a bit had been amazingly therapeutic.

"Now, that! Felt Good!"

Taking a second to flash them the victory sign he proceeded to gloat some more "Hey, don't worry too much. I left your headbands" he indicated to the black cloth still tied around their heads "I'm even going to give you a chance! It's only the first day and I've already knocked out enough red teams. I'll do you a favour and focus on hunting black teams from now. If you guys can get down from there maybe you can find a red team and pass before it ends?"

The only response he got was a series of groans so he flashed them a quick salute and headed off.

While it was nice to throw Konohamaru's words back in his face and even better to get back at him, he did still like the brat. He didn't want to destroy their chances of advancement.

'_Well, I'll stay true to my word, I'll hunt down any black teams I can find...'_ he sighed, making another concession _'I guess if I find a red team I could aim to just weaken them. That'd give Konohamaru a chance to catch them.'_

"Geez... I really am too nice!"

* * *

'_Most likely, I am the weakest at this'_ Gaara realised as he dashed across a river towards where he had heard the distant sounds of battle.

'_I don't have any specific tracking skill nor much experience tracking at all. I don't move as fast as Naruto or B. That's without even considering Naruto's Kage Bunshin'_

The first day of the test was drawing to a close and he'd only managed to gather the bandanas of two red teams and five black teams. With his skills he had no problems subduing a team when he did catch up to them, it was simply a matter of locating them in the first plac.e

'_Luckily'_ he thought as he watched the rising of the full moon over the night sky _'I do have one advantage over even Naruto and B.'_ Gaara had spent almost his entire life getting as little sleep as possible, fearing the erosion of his psyche. Even with Shukaku removed, he still didn't feel any need to sleep often. Even just getting used to the idea of being able to sleep had taken him a lot of adjustment.

To Gaara a week or a month without sleep was no problem at all, he would go days without sleep without even realising it. _'The other Genin will no doubt wish to push themselves as far as possible on the first day. However the constant movement and pressure from battle will slow their bodies and sap their stamina, they will need to stop for the night.'_

Leaping from the river into the forest he followed it up a steep hill before finally arriving at the approximate area he'd picked up the sounds of battle from earlier. Swiftly moving from tree to tree he finally saw his goal, it appeared his suspicions were correct. A team of older Genin. They appeared to be around his age perhaps slightly older, two men and one woman, he couldn't identify the village of any from sight alone.

From the looks of things they'd fought and driven another team off earlier, they had a small shelter nestled against a rock formation and one of them seemed to have some pretty painful injuries... At least judging by the way the kunoichi kept fussing over him anytime he moved.

Instinctively gathering, stopping and spiking his chakra for a moment to break any possible illusions he verified the sight in front of him. They appeared to be putting away their meal and arguing over a sleeping rotation

'_Well, they don't have to worry about that'_ he smiled as he let his sand silently encircle their position. They were the first of many participants that night to discover the advantages of a man conditioned not to need sleep.

* * *

The light sun was a little past the horizon on the second day of the exams when Gaara arrived at the tower. He had expected to arrive first, seeing as both Naruto and B would have no reason to work through the night, still, it had taken him longer than he'd expected to arrive.

While there didn't seem to be any truely dangerous beasts in this ground like there had been in the so called "Forest of Death" the terrain was incredibly difficult to navigate. Even an experienced shinobi like him was slowed down considerably navigating crags, canyons, rivers and the various smatterings of woodland.

He guessed it was about 9am and with nothing better to do settled down against the entrance to wait for his team.

It took a few more hours for the rest of the team to arrive, Naruto's clone arriving second followed by B and the real Naruto a distant last only arriving shortly before midday "Sorry guys, I got lost somehow" he explained sheepishly when he finally arrived.

"Anyway!" Naruto continued, clearly attempting to change "How'd we all do? I did pretty damn well I think!" he tipped out 6 red scrolls and threw down a large pile of bandanas.

"Not bad" Gaara commented, removing his collection adding a further 5 scrolls and a number of bandannas to the pile.

"Hah! I've got you both beat!" Naruto's clone piped up happily counting out 10 scrolls and a huge clump of bandanas. "Looks like there was good pickings where I was!" he was quickly dismissed before he could gloat more, Naruto swaying slightly at the feedback from a clone active for an entire day.

"Not bad, not bad at all" B commented throwing another 6 scrolls onto the pile and dumping his collection of bandanas to complete the small mound. "We got almost everyone, we might be the only team to pass. As a team or as individuals we kick arse!"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto readily agreed to that "Lets go turn these in!" already scooping both the piles up.

And so a few minutes later, they passed through the entrance corridors and into what appeared to be the main foyer of the tower, a large bare room with a cold grey floor decorated with symbols of the various ninja handsigns.

Quickly seeing they weren't alone the far end of the room containing a large contingent of ninja talking, playing cards, meditating or otherwise killing time.

"Hmm? What's going on?"

Gaara was the first to notice "I believe those are the Jonin-sensei, waiting for their teams... Ah, there's Mei-sama" he pointed out the stunning brunette slowly making her way over to them.

Naruto, never one to wait on ceremony instantly called out to her and ran over, getting the attention of the entire Jonin assemberly

"What took you three so long? I was expecting to be out of here by lunch yesterday! I certainly wasn't expecting to have to stay the night!" Mei fumed, she'd been having so much fun going on "diplomatic exchanges" to various Konoha Izakaya with the Hokage. Having to bum around in a cold tower waiting for her team to finally pass was not her idea of a good vacation.

"We decided to go the extra mile" Gaara answered simply before Naruto had a chance to get mad at her.

"Yeah! Check this out" the man in question yelled, opening his arms and dumping the piles of bandanas and scrolls onto the floor, sending them clattering around the room.

Looking around now, with the full attention of the various Jonin-sensei he could see looks of shock and irritation among them all. It was clear to everyone involved that most of their teams wouldn't be arriving.

Mei studied the pile curiously before giving a short laugh "Well, I certainly didn't expect that. I imagine that will make things simpler when it comes time for the finals. In that case I say well done. Now. Lets get out of here, maybe we can track down Hokage-sama..." that thought brought a smile to her face, her so called team had done well, it was a nice sunny day and she had an excuse to celebrate... Perfect.

B grinned and struck up conversation with the impatient Mizukage as she walked away, attempting to get her to rap with him.

Gaara simply nodded and followed.

Naruto flashed victory signs to the rest of the Jonin-sensei and whooped "Yeah! Stage two clear!" before pumping his fists and following to join in the conversation.

* * *

Only two more teams made it to the tower before nightfall on day two, aside from having a group of S-class ninja out making the test harder for them the distance truly was a long way for a standard Genin to travel in such a short time.

A little before Midnight however the doors banged open one last time and three straggling Genin stumbled in, coated in bruises and torn clothes, obviously near the end of their reserves with only two having managed to keep their headbands.

"Sensei..." Hanabi called out upon seeing the man quickly shunshin over to them "We... Made it" having no energy for further conversation she opted to simply thrust their scroll out and nod her way through her sensei's proud congratulations to the team.

Task complete and absolutely exhausted Hanabi was considering just lying on the floor and going to sleep when a soft voice drew her attention, "Congratulations Hanabi-chan. You've done well."

Surprised she turned to see Hinata smiling proudly at her, before being collected into her arms, instinctively snuggling into the warm embrace "C'mon, let's get you out of here"

* * *

The third day came and went with only a small handful more teams passing. The attitude among the remaining Jonin dropped precariously low, the idea that their teams had probably been eliminated by a group of ninja who had no place even taking the test was not a happy one for many of them.

With only a little over an hour before the end of the exam Ebisu who had all but given up hope was beside himself with joy when he saw the doors open up one last time and his team stumble in.

Moegi seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness, just barely fending off sleep. Udon was stopped so low his hands were almost trailing along the ground and Konohamaru appeared to be trying to pull together the energy required to speak. They were all covered in small cuts and bruises but miraculously it appeared that all three had retained their headbands.

"We... We didn't sleep... Three days... " Konohamaru explained as he fished around in his pockets finally producing a scroll "But, we finally found someone... We did it..."

And so, task complete, he fell straight over and was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Ebisu picked him up and supported Moegi and Udon to stop the same happening to them, they'd passed! They'd passed! They might have only just barely made it but they'd passed! He was practically glowing with pride as he carried them out.

* * *

"Finally... Done..." Sakura stumbled out of the med bay, slumped against the nearest wall and promptly started to slide towards the ground.

The medical squad had been on standby for the second test, they'd expected some combat... They hadn't expected almost every single team to be hunted down and thrown around.

Most of them hadn't needed all that much medical attention, Naruto and his team had been rather gentle with them, but still, their requirements had been to track down any Genin anytime the trackers showed their headband being removed.

She'd spent the last three days hunting through the forest, locating and retrieving Genin to drag back to the med bay and be given medical treatment. She'd treated more than two hundred cases, she'd barely had a moments rest.

'_Naruto... I... Kill you...'_

She was asleep without even finishing the thought

**End Chapter 2**

* * *

**Omake**

"Looks like the logistics of the third test won't be so difficult after all" Shizune happily piped up.

She felt a bit guilty leaving her workload to Sakura after she was pulled off the medical squad to help with the planning for the final test... Still, no-one she'd seen had been in any serious danger and scouring the forest all night for wayward Genin wasn't her dream job.

Tsunade grunted acknowledgement "Now the biggest problem is how to deal with Naruto and that team of his"

"I'm sure Naruto will be careful not to overdo it!" Shizune answered loyally, trying to convince herself as much as anyone else "Well, we can have a chat with him and tell him to be careful?"

Shikamaru stood from where he was slouched against the wall "Tch... He probably won't use the 9-Tails chakra so why don't we just ban Sage mode?"

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow, surprised "You want me to make a rule that specifically punishes him?" the suggestion seemed odd, especially from one of his friends "The brat annoys me sure, but that's a bit much"

"Naruto worked hard for that power! We can't just... We can't just ban it" Shizune couldn't even wrap her head around that idea

"It'll keep things under control" Shikamaru explained in his typical monotone "we can just say it's a matter of keeping things fair for all the competitors"

"Keeping things fair?" Tsunade scoffed at that "It's a ninja battle! Why should it be fair? If you're stronger you're stronger!" she banged her hand on the table to emphasise that point, thankfully keeping enough presence of mind not to break the whole thing.

"It'd look ridiculous to the other nations anyway" Tsunade rationalised "Everyone'd be wondering if we'd ban Bloodline limits or Summons next. It's hard to say Sage Mode is more unfair than the Sharingan"

Everyone nodded at that, the Sharingan especially, that thing seemed to just develop new powers whenever the user needed them. She'd originally thought it simply copied techniques, upon taking up residence as Hokage and having access to sealed information she'd been surprised to find it also turned back time, shot out an unstoppable fire and summoned a giant skeleton. If she'd had any doubts, the first hand demonstration she'd received from Madara had eliminated them.

"Still, considering it's a ninja from our village we're talking about, I doubt there'd be that many problems. Surely you're free to put whatever limits you want on your own ninjas" Shikamaru countered with a shrug

"Still... It's Naruto" Shizune liked the boy but even she could see how what would happen "He, he's impulsive. Even if you ban it, he'd probably use it, accidently, just on instinct... That'd be terrible" she could just see that happening, the poor boy would be devastated being disqualified, especially if it was from a rule that had been made up to affect no-one but him, for no purpose except to make his life harder.

"Mmm... I can definitely see that" Tsunade agreed, even if his on the fly plans were often brilliant there was no denying he fought with his heart more than his mind. Getting disqualified in such a ridiculously unfair manner... _'Well, knowing him, he probably wouldn't hold a grudge or anything. Still.'_

"So?" Shikamaru countered again, a little annoyed at having to argue two against one, did they not see where he was going with this? "If Naruto gets disqualified that makes it easier doesn't it? No worries about him overdoing things"

Seeing the shocked look on their faces he realised he would need to fully explain this

"It's cold sure but... I mean, it's not like he needs to win the tournament or even do anything in the tournament right? I don't think there's anyone that thinks Naruto shouldn't be a Chunin at the very least, but it's not like that's decided from winning the tournament."

"Hmm" Tsunade pondered that, "That's true, Even if he gets disqualified the selection committee would still make him a Chunin"

She laughed a little "It's not like they'd sit down and say "Oh well he's an experienced ninja, a Sage and probably the most powerful person in the world... But he got disqualified so we better not pass him""

The fact that as the Hokage she'd be part of that decision making process and anyone who even thought such a comment would drastically shorten their lifespan went unsaid. Yup she thought, there was simply no way that would happen.

It did make sense, the idea that even if Naruto was somehow disqualified in a incredibly biased manner he'd still pass the test and ultimately everyone would be happy.

"It's not a bad plan Shikamaru but no, I don't feel comfortable doing that to him. Making up a rule just to punish one person looks ridiculous. Plus we do want him to show off in the exam, to show the strength of Konoha's ninja"

That was true even if that damn Mizukage was trying to take all the credit for the team... She grumbled internally a bit at that, Naruto certainly had audacity.

"Lets just make plans around sealing and Earth techniques to reinforce the structure and the arena itself. Okay! That's settled..." thinking of the Mizukage had reminded her "Now, I just remembered I have another diplomatic commitment with Kiri tonight. So I'll leave the planning to you two!"

So saying she grabbed her hat and leapt out the window towards the Izakaya Mei had mentioned she was taking her team tonight.

"Wha-"

"Tsunade-sama!"

* * *

**A/N**: For anyone wondering about Hanabi and the whole mini-Hina thing, I wanted to give her a nickname to show Naruto had become familiar with her during the timeskip (since he basically gives everyone nicknames, even if for women it's often just name-chan). However everyone seems to give Hanabi the same nickname, something along the lines of "Firecracker", I wanted to do be a little different.

I was actually tempted to go with Sparkler for a bit, but no. Mini-Hina just seems much cuter and in parts, appropriate! Since she doesn't have any set personality shown in either the Manga or Anime as far as I'm aware, I've based most of it off her appearance in the games, where she comes across mostly as a polite, sweet girl. To the best of my knowledge her standard portrayal in stories as a cold arrogant brat is simply author supposition.

I did actually feel slightly bad having Naruto beat Konohamaru up, even if he was pretty nice about his petty revent. At least he passed though!

In other news, while working on this I finally got to see Road to Ninja... Wow, what a stunning disappointment. Hope no-one minds if I use this as an excuse to rant a little. I went into it excited for the personality swaps on Naruto's class mates and what we saw of that was great (Lee, Hinata and Kiba especially), I expected Kushina and Minato to appear, I guess I wasn't expecting them to be essentially the whole film. Or for Kushina to break down in tears anytime Naruto either got injured or almost got injured. I get that they needed to show her as a loving mother but... Eh.

I typically like Iruka, so seeing him be a dick to Naruto for absolutely no reason surprised me too. "Oh, all your friends are being promoted and you alone are forgotten? Well rather than support you or at the very least sympathise in any way let me justify holding you back with a ridiculously flimsy excuse. You need to beat up Genin to be a true ninja Naruto!"

Sakura was probably the absolute worst. I'm generally pretty cold on Sakura to begin with, especially when animated (she goes from having a temper in the Manga to being a raging psychopath in the Anime/Movies which always bothers me) but goddamn, I don't think I've ever seen her worse than here.

-Completely misunderstands the boy she apparently loves. Sasuke would feel sorry for me being mad at my parents over something trivial? Sasuke. The guy who literally is living his entire life around his dead clan/brother. That's your example? Really? Did... Did you even listen when he spoke?

-Terrible with Naruto, I don't even mean hitting him. I just mean, wow. Honestly, Naruto is worse than Hinata, he simply cannot speak to Sakura, not about anything important. He starts then every time she just talks right over him, tells him off and ignores him, even if it's something deeply important to him. He literally cannot hold a conversation with , I don't even like SakuNaru, but apparently the writers hate it.

-That fucking ending. I cannot be the only one to get this.

At the start Sakura cannot understand Naruto's pain, what it's like for him to go home to an empty house every night, even in a village that now loves him. Through the movie she learns more about this and comes to understand him, seeing their positions effectively reversed. He's finally happy and loved, she's alone. Even if just for a short time, she understands his pain.

So then at the end when she's back in reality with her parents you sit there expecting her to do something, to make a gesture, something, anything! Why not say "Hey, Naruto, why don't you crash at my place tonight?"

Nope

After spending her entire character development understanding what it's like to go home alone to an empty house... She proceeds to just send him home, alone, to an empty house while she goes off with her parents.

What the fuck?

(Iruka breaking into Naruto's place did not make it a happy ending. It made him creepy as fuck)


	3. Chapter 3

**The World's Greatest Chunin Exam Team**

* * *

**A/N:** The Final chapter! The longest chapter, I was initially expecting this to be about the same length as the first chapter, still, it's finally done!

How will the finals go!? Will Team Terumi somehow manage to overcome the challenge of defeating Genin!? Let's find out!

* * *

Without even a day to rest, the successful teams were instructed to meet for the details of the last test the day after the end of the second exam.

And so, in the same auditorium they'd received their initial instructions, Naruto was waiting impatiently with his team. Assumedly the Hokage would be here soon to explain the final exam. "Geez, what's keeping Baa-chan?" he groused, giving a bored look over to his competition.

He was happy to see Konohamaru had somehow managed to pull through, the boy looked pretty beat up (he was fairly sure he hadn't caused _all_ of that) but he'd passed. He was proud of him.

Seeing Mini-Hina standing next to her remaining team mate was a good sight too. He'd been happy receiving his clone's memories of helping her, seeing that his help had assisted her in making it to the final round gave him a nice feeling.

He was a little sad to see there weren't any other Konoha teams around; they were the only two that had made it. With the bandanas replacing the standard forehead protector it had been hard to tell who was from what village, but still, he regretted not letting a few more Konoha Genin get away. He didn't recognise any of the other participants, but it seemed Kumo, Kiri, Iwa and Suna all had at least one team in the finals.

It seemed they'd done an even better job than they'd expected in the second test. From more than a hundred participants, only ten teams remained in the room at the moment. A few of those weren't even full teams, having lost members in either the first or second test. He couldn't be bothered counting but he guessed there was only about 25 people waiting for the third test.

'_Still, that's a lot for a final round though. But no-one said anything about preliminaries? Eh, who cares'_ he decided it didn't make a huge difference to him, if they had to do preliminaries he'd end his fast and head to the finals, if they didn't he'd worry about it later_. 'Its kind'a fun like this!'_ he realised with a slightly guilty grin, he'd never have even considered taking such a laid back approach to the exams last time!

Wondering if this was what it was like being a Jonin-sensei, going from doing A or S class missions to taking a group of Genin through D and C ranks he turned towards the stage, still waiting on Baa-chan, or anyone really, to make an announcement.

Looking at the stage he had to smile. Most of his friends were up there, all waiting far more patiently than him. As proctors they weren't required to attend but evidently most had chosen to, to support him, another good feeling!

Hinata was alternating between looking proudly at her little sister and giving him a bright smile, sometimes with an accompanying light blush. She'd caught him before he came in to personally congratulate him on passing... As if it was ever in doubt! Still he appreciated the gesture so he grinned back at her, catching her eye and enjoying the sight of her blush deepening a little.

He warmed a bit at that, he really did enjoy teasing the poor girl. There really didn't seem to be anyone as unflinchingly honest and shy as Hinata, she was exactly the kind of girl he'd never thought he'd be attracted to and yet the more time he spent with her the more she grew on him. Thinking back he remembered getting to know her.

It had been a little awkward at first, knowing how she felt about him and not knowing her well enough to know if he could reciprocate her feelings...Part of him still struggled with the idea that someone could love him, he hadn't realised how much his upbringing had affected him until he'd had to deal with that feeling, first Hinata, then his Mother.

He quickly cut off that train of thought, he knew he would have to sort his feelings out one day and he would have to find a way to grow past the emotional void his childhood had given him, but now wasn't the time for it.

Turning his gaze he saw Ino preening herself, trying to subtly check her makeup in a hand mirror. He knew first hand she was a highly capable ninja and there was no denying how attractive she was, she probably was the best choice as proctor to put in front of the crowd... But still, he couldn't help but feel she took it a bit too far.

He then saw Sakura was cheekily sticking her tongue out at him. She'd congratulated him earlier but apparently he'd made her work much harder than she'd expected during the second test. So she was making it a point to be slightly mean to him. He felt a bit guilty about that, but only a bit.

Choji and Lee seemed to be the most uncomfortable; he guessed for Choji it was because he could hardly start eating in the middle of the stage, if nothing else than because Ino would flay him alive. Lee as usual just seemed to be bursting with energy as if he was fighting with the urge to do 500 one armed push ups... _'Which he probably is'_ Naruto conceded.

He couldn't really see from where he was but judging from the hand signals flashing between Kiba and Tenten it seemed Kiba was using this as excuse to try flirt with the kunoichi. Naruto was actually pretty impressed by that, especially considering the signals were designed for little more than basic field communication.

Just as he was trying to puzzle out what Shino was thinking the doors to the stage finally banged open and Tsunade strode in, dressed in her full formal attire._ 'Huh, can't remember the last time I saw her wear the hat. I'm gonna wear it every day for sure!'_

"Congratulations on making it this far everyone" Tsunade got straight to the point "We're here today to discuss the details of the final test" Apparently she wasn't going to say anything about being almost thirty minutes late Naruto noted. Seeing the bags under her eyes and judging from the fact he hadn't seen Mei-chan last night he could hazard a guess as to why she was late. He sent a silent prayer to Shizune-nee-chan, hoping she'd gotten at least some sleep last night, probably having had to pull the Hokage and Mizukage out of bar after bar.

"Because of the number of teams that have passed, we won't need to hold any preliminary matches. Everyone who made it this far will get to fight in front of the audience, so again, congratulations" she gave them all a wide smile at that.

"Now, the final exam will be a series of single elimination team matches. You will be judged on your performances both individually and with your team. Winning your matches won't necessarily guarantee a promotion to Chunin but it will give you more chances to showcase your skills. "

"Due to the number of teams and the shape of the brackets one team will be given a "Bye" in the second round and another team in the third round. No team will receive a "bye" twice. Which team receives this will be decided on based on your performance in the previous tests. The better you did the more likely you'll get a rest match."

Naruto tried to wrap his head around that, it seemed a bit complicated but he supposed it'd be more obvious when he saw the actual brackets. _'I guess with 10 teams you can't divide them in half for the second round evenly... Eh...'_ he had no desire to do any more math than that right now.

Tsunade guestured over to Ino who stepped forwards and proudly explained the specifics "The rules for the fights are very simple... There are no rules. You continue until your opponents give up or die. I ask that everyone here tries to avoid unnecessary casualties, but if you don't want to die then give up. If I decide a fight is over either for an individual or a team then it's over. No questions, no arguments" she paused for a moment to sweep a steely look across the room, letting out enough killing intent to show before anything else she was a Jonin with experience in both battle and war "Do not make me or anyone else step in. That is all."

Tsunade took center stage again "The fights will take place one month from now to give you time to recuperate, train or whatever else you need to do to prepare for your matches. Anyone who wishes to bow out can do so now..." she paused for a second to see if there were any takers, no-one seemed interested "No? Okay. In that case come forward and select a number" she pulled out a box with a hole in the top "That will determine the order of the matches."

With only ten people to draw the selections took no time at all. A few minutes later Naruto checked and saw he was matched against a team from Kiri. They seemed surprisingly excited about facing his team so he gave them a quick once over. Not feeling any kind of strong chakra presence from them he shrugged and moved on

If he'd cared enough to listen he would have heard phrases like "We've waited for this moment!" and "Now the whole world will see our true strength" alongside things like "We're no ordinary Genin team after all."

"Do we know anything about them?" Gaara questioned as they walked out of the building

Naruto shrugged "They're from Kiri, I guess we can ask Mei-chan?"

B piped up at that "That'll have to wait a week, she heading off today for a tour of resorts around the Land of Fire. I'm actually going with" he announced with a lecherous grin "Wine, Baths and Women! With all that I'll never tire!"

Gaara snorted and walked off

Naruto was suddenly reminded of something very personal B had blurted out in the middle of the battlefield so long ago... With, that memory in mind he turned to give B a wide grin and bump fists with the man. "With Mei-chan eh? Good luck!" he cheered his friend on, matching B's perverted grin with his own.

* * *

'_This is completely different from the last exam'_ Naruto thought with a laugh that afternoon after celebrating the announcement of the finals at Ichiraku's, and having made both Ayame and Teuchi swear not to tell Sakura he'd eaten there for the seventh meal in a row.

'_Last time we were all training desperately... Well, me and Sasuke at least'_ Sakura didn't really have much to do that Month, he wasn't sure what she'd even gotten up to _'Kakashi was off training Sasuke, I was getting thrown down a cliff by Ero-Sennin...'_ the thought of Jiraya stopped him for a moment, he still missed his master terribly... Although thinking of it did remind him of how he first met Jiraya and that it wasn't originally Jiraya that had been going to train him, in fact Kakashi hadn't even known Jiraya did train him _'Not really too surprising'_ he thought only slightly bitterly _'he didn't even bother to come watch my match'_

No, Kakashi had arranged a different teacher, the closet-Pervert! Thinking of him suddenly reminded him of Konohamaru. _'I should go see what he's up to!'_ he decided _'Gott'a make sure he's prepared for the exams after all. He looked pretty beat up this morning!'_

* * *

It turned out to be surprisingly easy to find team Ebisu. He knew where they met for team meetings and it seemed that Ebisu had just dismissed them.

"Hey guys!" he called out running to catch up to them as they began to walk off. He winced at the surprisingly cold look he got from Moegi and Udon, apparently they hadn't appreciated the setback he'd put on them in the second test. Konohamaru seemed even more wound up about it, jumping forwards and sticking a finger in his chest

"Boss! You bastard!" he screamed "Do you know how hard we had to work after you showed up!? It was a nightmare!"

"But..." Naruto interrupted gently, taking the boys hand from his chest "You passed" smiling he turned the accusing finger into a handshake, shocking them all "You guys did really well. I'm really impressed."

That seemed to break the ice, Moegi blushed at his praise, Udon beamed and Konohamaru, in a very Naruto-like gesture looked away while scratching the back of his head "Yeah, well, we're awesome. You know that"

Naruto laughed "So, what's your plan for the finals? You can't just take it easy y'know!"

They spent the new few minutes walking Naruto through Ebisu's surprisingly detailed training regimen. The man seemed a big fan of keeping things organised and tidy, having already mapped out exactly where and when they'd be training. Mostly it was team building or co-ordination exercises, a few missions and a few days of rest.

While it was a relatively intense schedule it wasn't even close to as harsh as one Naruto or Sasuke would have used _'I suppose they can't risk injury before the tournament'_ Naruto considered, he had a tailed beast to help out there and Sasuke was too proud to even consider such things.

As it was it turned out their training would only start a few days from now, Ebisu was giving them the rest of the week off to recover from the fatigue and injuries of the second test. With no further details until then, the conversation turned to lighter matters. Naruto hung out with them for a while, showing them some of his cooler techniques and listening to their stories about the C-rank missions they'd been on.

Eventually the sun started to set and the group set off back to the main section of the village, splitting up as everyone went their separate ways until finally it was just Naruto walking Konohamaru back to the Sarutobi estate. The two chatted amiably, repairing the damage their egos had done to their friendship over their last two encounters.

It wasn't until they were right outside the gates of the estate that Konohamaru mentioned the upcoming final stage again, turning to Naruto and finally asking what he'd clearly been thinking of for a while "Hey... Boss. I know you're probably gonna be busy over the next month or so, but... uh" Naruto grinned, guessing where this was going "You want me to give you some training outside of your team training?"

"Yeah!" Konohamaru was suddenly bursting with energy at that "You gott'a make it up to me after almost causing me to fail the last test!"

He laughed; it honestly really was a nice feeling, almost nostalgic in a way, bringing back half forgotten memories of the discussion he'd had with Shikamaru after he'd lost Ero-Sennin. "Sure! I should be around most of the time... I'll teach you some things!"

They both grinned at that, it was nice to have things back to how they used to be. Konohamaru hadn't had many chances to properly train under Naruto but they'd always been fun, doing it seriously over a whole month sounded great! Even as exhausted as he still was he was sorely tempted to demand to begin right then.

Luckily pragmatism won out when his Mum saw him standing outside and called him in for dinner. So he simply gave Naruto a copy of the schedule Ebisu-sensei had given him and waved goodbye.

Naruto simply pocketed the schedule and walked off happily _'Yup. Definitely nothing like the last exams! I guess it's my turn to be Ero-Sennin this time!' _he thought about that for a moment _'Uh... Hmm maybe not.' _He didn't have any desire to spend the month peeping on women and writing porn, plus Toad Sage or not, he didn't have permission to let other people sign the Toad Contract yet... _'Well, either way, it'll be fun! Good practice for if I ever wanna be a Jonin-Sensei too!'_

He wasn't the underdog this time, he wasn't facing some clan elite with an extra year of experience on him and while he never slacked off in his personal training, it was just a completely different experience going in knowing there wasn't anyone in the exam that gave you even a moments pause.

* * *

The next few days fell into a comfortable rhythm, Naruto still didn't have any missions or much to do during the day so he spent most of his free time either hanging out with his friends or training with Gaara. Whenever Konohamaru had energy left after team training or was given a day off Naruto made an effort to train with him.

Naruto quickly found he had no idea how to teach except practical lessons so most of their time was spent sparring. He had made it his mission to help Konohamaru think up plans or tactics on the fly in much the same way that had made Naruto famous as being unpredictable. It came natural to him and he wasn't sure if it could be learned but at the very least it'd help the boy get a grasp of instinctive strategies.

Whenever they took a break from that or when Konohamaru was too beat up from team training for sparring to be a good idea they worked on the Odama Rasengan. Konohamaru's control as much better than Naruto's had been at the same age, it was almost as good as Naruto's was now, unfortunately he simply didn't have the same level of raw chakra reserves. To a normal person a Rasengan alone was a costly technique, practicing the steps towards an Odama Rasengan turned out to be great training for increasing his chakra reserves, even if it was unlikely he'd master it in time for the exams.

They'd discovered early on that at the moment anything more was out of his league, while his control was good enough anything more advanced would need more Kage Bunshin and the drain was simply too much. One attempt at a double Rasengan had quickly proven that... The resulting chakra exhaustion scare, which had caused a supremely pissed Sakura to drag him into Tsunade's office so they could both yell at him for being so irresponsible, was enough for a lifetime.

'_Yeah...'_ Naruto shuddered a bit at that memory '_Sakura-chan can be very scary sometimes'_.

It had been a little over a week since the second test, so having become pretty comfortable in his new routine, Naruto was surprised when he was disturbed from his lack of progress with the latest seal he was working on by a knock at his door.

Seal masters being as obscenely rare as they were (rare enough to destroy a nation over) sealing was something he had no real formal training in. He'd taken it up as a bit of a hobby and found it came quite naturally to him. Unfortunately, it was still an incredibly convoluted and complex art, something which caused him no end of frustration when his improvised (or in his words, "Naruto Uzumaki method") seals tended to have wildly varying effects.

Taking a moment to draw any chakra out of his failed creation, he stood up and walked to the entrance, wondering who would be visiting him. Konohamaru was training today and he didn't remember having any plans with anyone else...

"Oh hey, Hinata-chan! Come in!" he stepped away from the door, surprised to see her coming to his apartment by herself but glad to have a reason to stop giving himself a headache.

"Good morning Naruto-kun, thank you" she gave him a warm smile then stopped for a moment and surprised him again, this time by giving a deep bow before stepping past him and walking into his house.

This was definitely odd, Hinata was always very polite but... This was new. "So, what's up Hinata-chan? How can I help?"

Hinata for her part was forcing herself to remain composed, fighting from letting her mind go wild with the thought of Naruto-kun just inviting her into his house, being alone in his house... Remembering the last time she'd been alone here with him it took a terrible amount of effort not to go bright red with delirious joy,_ 'No, no, this is too important' _she chastised herself and forced her blush under control

"Actually... I, I came to thank you Naruto-kun" she quickly continued before he could say anything, lest she risk losing her composure "For what you did for Hanabi-chan"

"Ah" he hadn't expected that! He actually hadn't even thought much about his encounter with Mini-Hina since then. Still, it was nice of Hinata-chan to come all the way over here to thank him! He suddenly felt incredibly warm... Not knowing how to respond he just laughed with embarrassment.

Taking that as her cue Hinata continued "I didn't realise... I didn't even know what had happened... Or I would have come over sooner! Father was out of the village until yesterday and Hanabi-chan didn't want to tell anyone any details until he got back"

"So, last night she told us the whole story... How she was desperately avoiding a number of pursuit teams... How her team escaped a number of times. That two teams ended up working together against her, how she got trapped... Her team mate injured... That terrible man, with the sword..." she stopped for a second, regaining her composure "...You saved my sisters life Naruto-kun."

Steeling her courage at that moment she looked up at him, her face a mixture of happiness at everything being okay and despair at what could have been, she took his hand squeezing it gently "You saved her, just like you always do. I... I can never thank you enough. Thank you... Thank you" she sniffed, losing control slightly "I just... I became a proctor, if anything had happened... Just... Thank you"

She lost her control at that, turning away embarrassed and releasing his hand as she wiped away the tears spilling down her face. She didn't want him to see that, she'd cried enough in front of him already.

Naruto was completely stunned, he hadn't even really considered it, jumping in had just been something he'd done on instinct. It hadn't really even occurred to him that he'd saved her life until right now.

"Hey... Hinata-chan" he said softly, reaching over and stroking her shoulder gently "...Don't worry about it, of course I'd protect anyone precious to you..."

She seemed to cheer up at that, turning back to face him "Once she started Hanabi-chan couldn't stop talking about you, she was very thankful. She really likes you, she wants to thank you properly... Father too!" she smiled at that thought "He was shocked and grateful... He asked me to invite you over... As the guest of honour, for a formal dinner, as thanks"

She was obviously very happy he had her whole families' approval "Ah... I, uh, I said we should wait till after the finals though... So we could celebrate your victory as well..." she blushed at that suddenly looking shy again "If... uh, that's okay with you?"

"Sure! Yeah! Sounds like fun!" he laughed a bit at the image, it was hard to imagine a place he'd fit in less than a formal dinner at the notoriously stoic Hyuuga family. Still, Hinata-chan and Mini-Hina would be there and he knew if the situation was reversed he'd want to properly thank someone that'd protected one of his precious people.

"But it won't just be celebrating my victory!"

"Oh?"

"Nope! It'll be Mini-Hina's victory too! That's your job until the exams isn't it? Make sure she becomes a Chunin!"

"Of course!" she beamed at that, it was true, she'd been training with Hanabi a lot over the last week. Now that her father was back he would take over the Jyuuken instruction, but she would help with everything else! Her precious little sister wouldn't be put in such a situation again, not if she could help it.

With that they spent the rest of the morning just chatting about light-hearted matters until Hinata insisted on taking Naruto out to lunch.

Leaving the house while promising Naruto for the tenth time that she definitely wouldn't let Sakura find out they left to head for Ichiraku's.

It struck Hinata once again just how happy she was with her life right now. Ever since she'd learned he lived by himself, she'd had a hundred different fantasies of being alone with Naruto in his apartment. She'd imagined everything from cooking dinner for him, to lounging around with him, to lurid fantasies she wouldn't even admit to Kurenai-sensei... Tearfully thanking him for saving the life of her sister before taking him out for Ramen had never been one of those fantasies. And yet, while walking beside the man she loved, on what was probably, definitely, most likely, for all intents and purposes, a date, she couldn't imagine being happier.

Naruto, touched by the whole experience, was simply enjoying the sense of warmth that Hinata often seemed to send through him. _'The feeling of being loved? Being wanted?'_ he thought for a second, relishing the idea.

* * *

It wasn't until later the next week that Mei finally returned to the village.

Tsunade looked up as the woman in question walked into her office, looking utterly relaxed and far more tan than she'd last seen her. Utterly failing to restrain a surge of jealousy at the idea of a fellow Kage getting to spend a week travelling the land of fire, visiting resorts, getting drunk and lazing around Tsunade knew she still had to be polite.

"Welcome back Mizukage-sama. I trust your travels went well?"

"Oh it was wonderful Hokage-sama. It has been far too long since I've been anywhere in the Land of Fire... That resort you recommended near the Kagata mountains especially..."

Tsunade's eye twitched at that as she began tuning Mei out, she had mentioned that resort but she'd never actually been able to stay there. It was the only place in the Land of Fire that would dare turn down her, the last Senju, for something as simple as rumours of bad credit! She'd been so mad at the time Shizune had to drag her away before she'd destroyed the entire place.

Now as Hokage her credit problems were gone, her reputation was beyond question, she would be an honoured guest... If only she could get a single moment of spare time! Crying inside she could just imagine the reactions she'd get from Shizune or the village leaders at even mentioning taking a week off to booze and gamble.

'_That damn brat can't take this job soon enough'_ she thought, only slightly serious. She honestly loved being the leader and protector of the village. She took great pride striving for the ideals of said brat along with those of the memories of her lover and brother... _'Just, all the damn tedious paperwork and meetings'_.

Speaking of Naruto, Tsunade was already in discussion with a number of well regarded photographers, they would be well prepared when he was finally ready to take the role... The moment it sunk in that he'd be spending his life stuck behind a desk instead of out on the field, that almost all of his very long day would be nothing but paperwork and meetings... That moment, that look on his face, she planned to immortalize it forever.

Hearing the sound of the door opening she shook herself from that very familiar daydream. Looking up, glad for the relief both from the current forms and from the Mizukage's continuing story about her wonderful holiday, she saw Shizune escorting in a very familiar face...

"Ah, Ueshima-san. What a pleasure to see you!"

This was definitely a good sign! Her day was getting brighter finally! This was her reward for spending all afternoon diligently doing paperwork! The large smile on her face was entirely unforced. Ueshima Hideyoshi, was one of her absolute favourite clients. He was a very rich businessman dealing in (mostly legal) trades throughout the Elemental Nations. He took great pride in his business and staked a large amount on his reputation.

In simple terms it meant he refused to let his trade routes be disrupted and was prepared to pay for the best to achieve that. For her, this meant that a mission that could probably be given as a B-rank to a Chunin or small Jonin team was instead listed A-rank and typically given to one of the more famous ninja, usually as a reward for good service.

He wanted to pay for the extra security and enjoyed the image of the famous ninja protecting his business, her ninja liked easy missions with high pay, she liked safe ninja and lucrative missions, it was hard to imagine a better client.

Standing she addressed the man "This is actually marvellous timing Ueshima-san, with the Chunin exams going on at the moment most of our strongest ninja are available on short notice. I believe even Sharingan-Kakashi and Might Gai are free currently or perhaps Yamato, you may have heard he has the extremely rare Mokuton bloodline..."

The idea of letting a client choose their team was ridiculous and should never be allowed. It put ninja in danger and misallocated resources. Team allocation was the Hokage's job and no-one else's... On the other hand, if said client was willing to pay to have a few groups of Yakuza wiped out as an A-Rank mission with a 20% bonus for a fast, effective job... Well, every rule had exceptions!

"Ah, if you'll excuse us, Mizukage-sama" she liked the woman, sure. But it was difficult even looking at how tan she was when poor Tsunade had to spend all day inside.

Unfortunately, just as Mei was standing to make her exit the client in question interrupted "Ah... Actually Hokage-sama... My apologies... I was sent here because I was told this was where I could find the esteemed Mizukage-sama" he turned and favoured her with a respectful bow.

Tsunade's jaw dropped, he continued "Konoha has always provided me with excellent service of course Hokage-sama but..." he turned back to Mei "I've got quite a large problem this time you see... It seems, a number of Yakuza groups have banded together and are causing problems all over the Shirohima region... And well, I've heard such amazing things about Team Terumi... I was hoping to recruit them for an S-rank mission"

Mei looked absolutely predatory, "Why of course sir! They are completely free at the moment. Why don't we move this discussion to my hotel?"

Tsunade could only watch, stunned, as the man who was one of the single most lucrative clients for the village walked away. Mei turning for just a moment to flash a beaming smile...

"Is it really true? The Kazekage, Killer B... even Uzumaki Naruto, they all answer to you? Despite their villages?"

"Oh, completely. That is to say, without me, the team wouldn't exist. You know it was Naruto himself who-"

Mei's voice drifted away into the distance as Tsunade sank back to her mounds of paperwork wondering exactly what the political ramifications for having the Mizukage assassinated would be...

* * *

The next few weeks passed quickly for Naruto. Team Terumi ended up being sent on several missions, mostly bodyguard or similar work. Businessmen or political figures took full advantage of the opportunity to have four of the most famous ninja in the world, two of them current ruling Kage's associated with their interests.

It was pretty light work for the most part, Mei as the Jonin-sensei treated it as an extended vacation, typically leaving the team to their own devices as she wandered around the various tourist spots or spent the day drinking, or lazing about... Pretty much how he always envisioned Baa-chan if she were a Jonin-sensei, except without the gambling.

Still, Mei-chan was an amazing negotiator and the team's prestige came at a premium. The pay was very good, typically more than he'd usually get even from an S-Rank mission. So Naruto didn't complain... Well, not too often at least.

They'd even done a few missions on behalf of Konoha, Tsunade having argued angrily that having a foreign Kage running missions out of her village broke several treaties and that she should have full rights to assign missions to Team Terumi as well. The pay wasn't quite as good, Naruto was amused to realise Baa-chan wasn't as good a negotiator, but it did ease his guilt about doing missions on behalf of a foreign village.

When he was in Konoha he continued training Konohamaru as much as he was able. While the boy hadn't made much progress on the Odama Rasengan the practice had strengthened his standard Rasengan visibly. More importantly to Naruto's mind, Konohamaru had been a quick study in his school of unexpected tactics and was now impressing Naruto with his ability to quickly improvise on the fly.

Then, before they even noticed it, the month was over and the final exams were the next day. Realising they hadn't even discussed the upcoming matches, Team Terumi was all gathered in Naruto's apartment for a last minute strategy session.

"Okay, so... First up, we're fighting a team from, uh" Naruto thought hard, while ransacking his place to find where he'd put the schedule, he really should know this, "...Iwa right?"

"Kiri" Gaara corrected, glad he'd taken a moment to look at the schedule before he came over

"Oh right, Kiri. Yeah! We were gonna ask Mei-chan about them! Did we get any info?" finally locating it he triumphantly held up his schedule, why had he put it under his lamp?

That had originally been B's job "She said she didn't want to give anything out on a team from her home. We've got as much information as an empty tome."

"Yeah, not surprising" Naruto shrugged then took a second to flatten his schedule and open it up on the kitchen table, "Okay, so the matches are..."

**First Round**:

Team Takara (Kumo) vs Team Kahae (Kumo)

Team Mimura (Konoha) vs Team Ebisu (Konoha)

Team Terumi (Shinobi) vs Team Ishinomori (Kiri)

Team Oyama (Iwa) vs Team Isago (Suna)

Team Tatenaka (Iwa) vs Team Hohiki (Kumo)

"Hmm, only two Konoha teams, that's a bit of a shame" Naruto thinking again he should have left some to pass.

"Only one from Suna" Gaara mentioned thinking along the same lines.

"Mei was pissed only one from Kiri made it here, three from Kumo though oooh yeaaaaah!"

Naruto tuned out B's victory rap looking at the names of the Konoha teams in particular "Huh, team Mimura... Mimura-sensei... That's familiar" suddenly he remembered he already knew the only other Konoha team to pass "Oh wow! So Konohamaru's fighting Mini-Hina in the first round!? He should have said something!" it was almost a parallel to Naruto's own experience, fighting Neji in the first round.

He was actually quite shocked, a month had passed and he was only finding this out now! While technically he didn't know or have any anti-Hyuuga strategies but he could'a come up with some! _'Why didn't anyone tell me!?'_ The most likely reason came to him quickly _'Heh... They probably thought I already knew didn't they?'_

"**Almost certainly" **Kurama chipped in** "what kind of ninja doesn't even look at the tournament schedule until the night before?" **He didn't care either way but it was always funny to get Naruto riled up.

Neither knowing nor caring who this "Mini-Hina" or "Konohamaru" were and as the only other person who could hear the discussion between Naruto and Kurama, B decided to head off the argument before Gyuki could start a similar complaint to him "Okay, okay, let's not get riled up. We gott'a focus on information that'll help us lift the cup!"

"Right, right!" Naruto agreed, focussing on the schedule again "okay, so we don't know anything about the first match. That's fine, who do we fight next, let's see. Hmm, we win and then we're up against either a team from Iwa, or a team from Suna? Gaara, any information we can use for that fight?"

Gaara considered the schedule again "I believe you're reading it wrong Naruto. Assuming no ties, there will be five teams in the second round. As they mentioned in the introduction the team with the best performance in the first two tests will receive a "bye" for that round. Almost certainly that will be us"

"Huh" Naruto nodded, remembering the explanation he'd considered overly complex. "Yeah that makes sense. It's hard to imagine anyone else having more points than us"

Gaara traced his finger along the brackets "With this assumption it seems our next fight will be against either the stronger Konoha team or the stronger Kumo team"

"It'll be against the Konoha team for sure!" There was no way either Mini-Hina or Konohamaru would lose, well, except too each other he conceded "probably Konohamaru's team" they had all three members after all "They're no problem" he felt a bit mean saying that, but it was clearly true.

Gaara nodded, about what he'd expected "And if not, then either this "Team Takara" or "Team Kahae"... Do you know anything about any of them B?"

B laughed looking slightly guilty "I don't know any of the teams in the tournament! They're all rookies, why care? It's not like we need to be going spare!"

"So..." Naruto looked around

"We have no information" Gaara finished

'_Man... And it's the night before the tournament. We're really unprepared...'_ Naruto's thoughts were echoed among the three of them. They really had taken this whole thing very casualy.

"Ah whatever, who cares!" luckily what he didn't have in preparedness he made up for in enthusiasm "Researching a bunch of rookies would have been a waste of time anyway! We'll beat them all easy! More importantly!" he paused, leaning in for dramatic effect "We need to talk about what we're going to do to ensure we're promoted!"

This was new, Gaara looked puzzled, B asked the obvious "Huh?"

"Well, we're here to discuss strategy right! And this is the most important strategy, you guys know how the test works, it's not about winning it's about acting like a Squad Leader."

"That's true" Gaara conceded, wondering where Naruto was going with this.

"This should be easy for you Gaara, you've got practice by being the Kazekage!"

Gaara blinked, not quite sure how to take that... Being Kazekage was good practice for being Chunin? He was sure there was something backwards about that but Naruto argued like he fought, wildly and completely improvised. He decided to just go with it.

B, having been a squad leader countless times over multiple years, preferred a much more straight forward solution "Why don't we just crush everyone? Show we're the best and we don't have to worry about the rest!"

Naruto emphatically shut that down "Because it's not based on just strength! Last time I went through the exams I beat up a really strong guy and I didn't get promoted. Now, we're gonna be way stronger than anyone else! If we just blow everyone away they won't be able to see if we're good at, y'know, being a Squad Leader"

He continued "I mean, do you wanna go through all this trouble and then be told they didn't see what they needed in a Squad Leader because every fight was over in two seconds?"

"No way!" B may not care about being a Chunin, but that was because he already considered himself far above the rank! He definitely didn't want to be told he wasn't good enough to be a Chunin!

"So you're worried that we'll be too strong for our opponents? We won't be able to show off our skills properly?"

"So we just act really weak then? Act like we're struggling against a team of Genin?" B asked definitely not liking that idea.

"No" to his relief Gaara dismissed that idea immediately "Acting weak doesn't make us look stronger when we win. If anything it just makes our opponents look better and makes us look worse. Everyone knows us; if we struggle against Genin it will look ridiculous."

Gaara thought for a moment "Simply toying with them or drawing out the fights would have the same result. Worse, there's a good chance any opponents who face us will simply forfeit, giving us no opportunity to display any skills whatsoever." He looked troubled at that, unsure how to overcome such an odd hurdle, he'd never even considered something like this.

"Exactly!" they both turned to Naruto at that, he had a very cunning smirk on his face, he'd clearly given this some thought "Luckily... I've got something in mind"

B laughed, Gaara settled for a grin, Uzumaki Naruto had a plan to ensure they looked like Squad Leaders in the finals. No doubt this would be...Unexpected.

And so, they gathered around and went over the details of Naruto's plans.

Having done nothing to prepare for the fights, with no information or knowledge about their opponents they spent their final night before the tournament studying not who their opponents were, or what tactics to use, but instead how to ensure they looked the part when they did win.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, in a rented Hotel room three figures were sitting around a small coffee table, discussing their own plans for the next day.

The first spoke "And you've finished your updated intelligence on Uzumaki?" his voice was grim, full of dark purpose.

"Yes" the second answered, pushing a stack of papers across the table "He was hard to track down, having spent so much time abroad this month, but I got some useful information from rumours as well. That should be a comprehensive dossier of every one of Uzumaki's abilities" he scoffed and continued "And their countermeasures... A complete guide to Kill Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Good, very good" the first voice spoke again, his voice twinged with excitement, he turned to his other companion "And the other two? His, so called team?"

A short feminine laugh cut across the room "They won't be a problem" she assured "My abilities will make short work of them" she slid her own papers across the table none the less.

"We've had a very busy month" the first voice spoke again "But it will all be worth it! Uzumaki won't know what hit him tomorrow facing us in his first match!"

And so, huddled in the dark, with a genjutsu set up to prevent anyone listen in, the three planned their strategy deep into the night.

* * *

The next morning, standing in the middle of the Konoha arena Naruto was marvelling at how much larger the new one was, the old one having been destroyed by Pain.

'_The crowd's massive too... They must have really gone all out this time'_

The seating seemed to be roughly divided up by region, the separate villages all posted to different sections of the stadium seating. Locating where the Konoha banners he was able to spot a number of familiar faces waving at him, he made an effort to smile and wave at his friends.

"It seems all the Kage's made it" he heard Gaara beside him, surprised he swung his attention up to the skybox.

Sure enough, Tsunade was waving down at the assembled Genin from the center seat, once again wearing her full Hokage robes. A was sitting next to her, he appeared to find the whole spectacle amusing, laughing at the idea of his brother competing in the exams, even Onoki had made it, Naruto was impressed.

'_He made it all the way here despite being even more of an old Geezer than jichan was, geez'_

Standing here, looking up at the crowd, just like last time it was hard not to think of the beloved Sandaime. Still, now wasn't the time for that, so he instead looked over to where Mei-chan was sitting, trying to figure out who she was talking to _'Wait... Is that...'_

Sure enough, next to the Mizukage, glaring down at them and clearly uncomfortable in the robes of office was Acting Kazekage Kankuro. _'So Gaara really did lump it all on him! Oh man!'_ it was an immense struggle not to laugh aloud at that. Telling himself that decorum was an important part of being a Squad Leader Naruto persevered.

With the excitement building, just as he was getting ansty to begin this whole thing, Ino finally stepped forwards to address the crowd. She'd certainly gone to great lengths to play up her part in this, ditching her standard Jonin uniform and instead donning a deep purple dress. Tight enough that it accentuated her generous assets yet long enough not to be absolutely scandalous, a fact that was undermined slightly by the large slit up the sides showcasing her long toned legs. Honestly it was hard to take your eyes off her which Naruto assumed meant the dress was doing exactly what she intended it to do.

Enjoying a few moments of attention and even a few shouted marriage proposals, Ino quickly called the audience to silence and began the introduction to the Chunin Exam Finals. She went over the rules one last time, once again leaking out enough killing intent for all competitors to take her seriously, before calling the first two teams to take their positions and dismissing the rest.

* * *

"Ah...But...Shouldn't you be with your team Naruto-kun?"

"Nah!" he waved a hand dismissing that worry "I said I'd watch the matches with you didn't I? Mini-Hina's match is coming up next!"

She definitely did remember him saying it but after having found out he was competing in the exams she hadn't actually expected him to ditch his team and track her down in the stands... _'Still'_ she thought _'he doesn't seem worried and his match isn't for a while... It's not bad to just enjoy this'_

Deciding not to think too much about it, Hinata just focussed on enjoying sitting next to Naruto while they watched the first two teams duke it out. _'It's a nice feeling'_ she thought happily _'spending time like this with the person you love... just like a date!' _She made an attempt to focus on the match but it bored her in comparison, the skill level was pretty low all around and she didn't really care about either of the two teams... While she didn't exactly hold a grudge, it was hard want to cheer for anyone from Kumo. _'It's difficult to care about this kind of match when sitting next to Naruto-kun'_ she realised.

So she contented herself in tuning the match out and sneaking glances at Naruto... Who was now happily helping himself to the snacks she'd made for herself. "Wow!" he called out after demolishing half a tray of rice balls and reaching for a container of takoyaki "These are really good... Yeah! You're a great cook!"

After that remark she barely noticed the rest of the march, with all the blood in her body having gone to her face she spent the rest of the time in a happy daze offering her the rest of the food she'd made. _'Cooking... Cooking for Naruto-kun...'_ thoughts of meals or picnics or... Cooking for him in his... In their home... Her mind threatened to shut itself off in at that last thought.

Needless to say, despite the quality of the participants, Hinata thoroughly enjoyed herself during the first match.

"Oh! Here they come!"

His words snapping her back to the present Hinata quickly stopped wishing she had more food to feed Naruto instantly put all her attention into hoping for the wellbeing of her younger sister.

The second Ino announced the start of the match Hanabi's team burst forth with unexpected ferocity! Clearly being a man down they were hoping to take the initiative from the start and finish the match as soon as possible.

"Woah! She's really fired up!" Naruto cheered as Konohamaru desperately replaced himself to avoid being taken down instantly with pinpoint tenketsu strikes.

The match flowed back and forth like that over the next ten minutes, Hanabi bravely charging forward with all her strength while her team mate attempted to assist with long range ninjutsu and a handful of basic genjutsu.

If they had retained their third member the match may have easily swung in their favour but, as it was the extra experience and teamwork on the side of Team Ebisu left them mostly in control of the match. Konohamaru and Moegi were trading off with close quarters taijutsu and ninjutsu as much as was safe against the Jyuuken while Udon focused on countering any genjutsu and using thrown weapons to keep Hanabi from advancing safely.

"She's working so hard" Hinata finally spoke up, having simply been gripping the edge of her seat with all her might till now, "she's doing so well"

"Yeah!" Naruto enthusiastically agreed "Konohamaru's like a little brother to me, it's like our little siblings fighting out there" he grinned, excited "C'mon! We gott'a cheer them on!"

So saying he stood up and walked to the edge of the balcony, grabbing the railing and leaning over it, screaming with all his might "YEAH! C'MON! KONOHAMARU! GO! GO!"

Hinata looked on guiltily, she'd never even considered doing such a thing! It just... It just wasn't done! A main-house Hyuuga leaning over the railing screaming at the fighters like some kind of thug... Her father would have a heart attack! And yet... The desire to do exactly that, to join Naruto cheering on her sibling against his, it was so strong she was biting her lip to control herself.

And then suddenly she was back years ago... She was back in her old self, facing the cruel words of her beloved cousin. About to give up, knowing exactly how the fight would play out, knowing it would be an embarrassing and incredibly painful loss. She was back feeling the strength, the power, the sheer belief flowing through her from Naruto's unbending encouragement. His belief in her even when she had no belief in herself, even when she was just a bloody mess on the floor, giving her the strength to stand even as her body shut down.

And before she even knew it, she was beside Naruto. She was leaning over the railing, gripping it with all her might and screaming at her precious little sister to fight! To stand strong! To win!

* * *

Hanabi had been fighting a desperate losing battle for almost fifteen minutes; she was exhausted, even through the adrenaline she could feel her body slowing down.

Her training over the past month had focussed solely on making up for the missing teammate, emphasising quick charging, closing the gap in the blink of an eye and shutting down her opponents instantly. Her sensei and her father had both stressed over and over again that their best chance would be in taking down at least one opponent the second the match began.

She'd aimed to take down the opposing team's leader right from the gate, as it was now she wondered if that was a critical mistake. Her research over the break pegged him as both the lynchpin of the team and the best fighter, cutting off his tenketsu would have crippled them... If only he wasn't so damn slippery!

Even with Yosuke backing her up she couldn't manage to land a single solid blow on the boy, a forward charge would end with her in an Ash Cloud, drawing him out by attacking that damn kunoichi in his team and she'd find herself fending off a Kage Bunshin before having to dodge a barrage of thrown weapons. Even attempting to get to the boy at the back of their formation had been futile, his ranged techniques and his team's support easily cutting off her advances.

She was a frontline fighter, experienced in the strongest taijutsu in Konoha, none of his team had landed a single solid hit on her, that was to be expected... She would be shamed by anything less... But being led around like this, she knew she was about to lose.

"HANABI-CHAN! FIGHT! YOU CAN DO IT!"

'_Huh... Hinata-nee-chan?'_ The words caught her completely by surprise, being so close to the edge of exhaustion she could barely register what her sister was saying. All she knew, all she cared about was her silly, shy, caring sister was calling out to her... Screaming for her, yelling over the rest of the crowd.

And, just like that Hanabi felt her exhaustion ease just slightly, her strength return just a tiny amount, and just like that Hanabi saw the opening she'd wanted for so long. Yosuke had just managed to trap that kunoichi in his genjutsu, she recognised it, the strongest one he knew, she'd be out for the rest of the match so long as no-one broke her out of it.

Their leader, Konohamaru she thought it was, was about to take down Yosuke, there was nothing she could do for him, he was too far away and completely exposed. However in doing so Konohamaru had overextended himself, he'd placed himself three steps too far forwards... That was the opening she'd fought so long to see, with the strength her sister had given her charged.

No thoughts needed Hanabi acted completely on instinct, rushing forward as her team mate dropped she kicked Konohamaru in the side, sending him crashing away and unable to do anything but watch as she finally reached their final team-mate, right when he was about to break the genjutsu on the kunoichi.

They had thought her exhausted, her strength gone... They hadn't been expecting such sudden speed, the second wind her sister had brought her. The final member, that glasses wearing boy, was caught flat footed and dropped in a moment, six pinpoint tenketsu strikes to his chest and neck ensuring he wouldn't interfere further.

In less than a moment the match had completely turned around. From 3v3 it was now 1v1, with two of Konoha's most famous clans facing off. The crowd roared their approval, Hinata screamed even louder.

Turning and letting out a heavy breath, forcing her legs not to shake with exhaustion, Hanabi faced down her final opponent. She was standing between him and the kunoichi, he couldn't get to her to break the genjutsu, not without getting through her. She saw he looked exhausted too, she doubted the Kage Bunshin or Ash Clouds he'd been summoning had come cheap.

Taking a moment to relax, strengthened again by the jubilant cheers she could scarcely believe were coming from her sister she readied her stance. This would be the final moment_. 'And... '_ She thought _'I've got the advantage. I'm directly in front of his team-mate, he can't risk using thrown weapons or ranged techniques'_. He would have to come directly at her, her Byakugan would see any movement and her Jyuuken would ensure her victory. This would be her win.

That was why Hanabi was completely surprised when, once again she was completely unable to predict Konohamaru. Rather than coming straight at her, or even trying to flank her he simply stared her down, took a deep breath and blew out one more Ash Cloud, this one directly ahead of himself, before stepping inside it, hiding from her sight. Saturated in chakra as it was even her eyes couldn't penetrate it, she could see slivers of movement but nothing else.

'_But... He can't see anything from in there either... He's preparing something?'_ having no ranged techniques and no ranged weapons left she had no choice but to wait. Acting on instinct driven into her by hundreds of hours of training her body automatically shifted into Jyuuken 3rd Standard Stance, 1st Variation... A strong defensive counter stance. He was planning something, he would come at her, probably with a Kage Bunshin, she would see it, counter it and win.

Unfortunately for Hanabi, nothing could have prepared for her for the boy and a Kage Bunshin suddenly leaping out of the Ash Cloud coming at her not with the taijutsu she'd expected but instead holding a spinning orb made of pure chakra, as if he held maelstrom in his hand...

'_That's the 4ths... That's Naruto's...'_

She didn't need the piercing yell of "RASENGAN!" that filled the stadium to recognize the danger coming at her.

Again acting on instinct built on years of training, her endless instruction, Hanabi didn't think, she simply reacted. Shifting her feet, sucking in her breath, she drew the last of her reserves, pushed her chakra out and let loose her own shout to match his "KAITEN!"

* * *

Neji was without question an absolute prodigy, the kind you would be lucky to see once every handful of generations. To learn the Kaiten at his age alone was amazing, to learn it without being trained in it was unprecedented. In the entire history of the Hyuuga there was perhaps a handful with comparable talent.

Hanabi was brillaint. She took to the Jyuuken well, she was incredibly advanced for her years, she worked hard and struggled through any pain or exhaustion to meet the demands of her father, of her clan. Unlike Neji, Hanabi had been shown the secret Jyuuken steps taught only in the main-house, she had been trained in the first stages of the 64-palms and taught the basics of the Kaiten.

For Neji to complete the Kaiten at 14 was unprecedented. For Hanabi, even with training, to do it younger was incredible.

Unfortunately Neji was a prodigy. Hanabi was merely brilliant.

Neji's Kaiten was complete. A perfect Kaiten.

Hanabi's was not.

What she managed was without question an impressive feat, to come as close to a perfect Kaiten at her age and experience was incredible. Yet in that moment all that mattered was that Hanabi's Kaiten was flawed, the chakra distribution not even, the rotation not fast enough, the movement of her hands off by a few degrees, her feet placed an inch too far apart...

Hitting her Kaiten the Rasengan was slowed, dissipated and even partially misdirected... However it wasn't stopped.

After putting up an incredible showing, Hanabi finished her first Chunin Exam flying across the arena, unconscious the moment her head slammed into the dirt.

* * *

"Woa..." Naruto was beyond impressed, cheering out of his mind as he watched Konohamaru tiredly waving his victory to the crowds.

The boy had improved beyond words! That fight had been amazing to watch! The plans he'd been using, the misdirections, the final act of bringing out your trump card to win the match in an amazing display... He grinned, it was like watching himself out there!

"Wow! Mini-Hina di-Huh?" he had turned to talk to Hinata-chan and was surprised to see he was talking to thin air and a few falling leaves... _'Oh...'_ he smiled, '_of course'_, turning to the Arena floor he saw Hinata coming out of her shunshin, gently cradling her sister's head as she yelled for the medics to hurry up.

It was hard to tell from this distance but she looked to be okay at least, Hinata looked worried but not distraught. Mini-Hina seemed to be stirring already so he doubted she'd have anything except some bruises and a sore body... _'Still, to think... The Rasengan against the Kaiten. What a fight...'_

Liking both Hyuuga's and wanting to make sure Mini-Hina was okay he was sorely tempted to go check on her, but he restrained himself, it wasn't really his place and he'd just get in the way. He'd leave her to her sister and the medics _'especially since I was just cheering against her'_ he thought with a touch of guilt _'I'll go see her later... For now...'_ he grinned

"My match!"

Finally!

* * *

Leaping over the railing down to the arena floor Naruto smiled at the sudden roar from the crowd _'Looks like we're the most anticipated team this time!'_. Stopping for a moment to congratulate Konohamaru and his team before they were ushered back to the waiting area by a visibly sobbing Ebisu (he didn't think he'd ever seen the man so glowing with pride) he moved to join Gaara and B in near the middle of the grounds.

He could see their opposing team was already in position, looking towards him with anxious eyes. Giving them a quick assessment he saw they were three normal looking Genin, around his age he guessed. The one he assumed was their leader was a tall man with wild black hair and wearing a plain mesh shirt. The two beside him were a sandy haired young man with an open jacket showing off his body and a brown haired kunoichi wearing a simple short blue kimono tied with a deep purple ribbon.

Aside from shuriken holders he couldn't see any specific weapons from them, even expanding his senses, he couldn't feel anything special from them, nothing that would explain why they looked so damn happy to be fighting three S-class ninja. _'No point dwelling on it I suppose' _he decided, he was hardly a sensor type, if they were hiding something important they'd find out, if not they'd get beaten quickly and it wouldn't matter.

He had more important things to worry about at the moment anyway _'Time to put my plan into action!'_ at that he nodded to Gaara and B before positioning himself in opposite them, forming a rough semi-circle. Ignoring the confused and increasingly angry looks Ino was sending him, wanting to start the match, he instead stared down his team mates "On 3!" he declared

So hearing the crowd hushed, something big was happening... They moved to the edge of their seat looking for the first sign of what was going on

"1!"

The other team flinched back into ready positions, unsure how to react, the match hadn't been officially started yet, should they interrupt this regardless?

"2!"

Ino tensed, she'd been around Naruto long enough to know when something was going on, she'd never heard alarm bells like this going off in her head before. Something big was going to happen, something so stupid it would be talked about for generations!

"JAN!" Team Terumi all drew their fists back "KEN!" and threw them forwards... Naruto and Gaara choosing Rock and B winning with Paper.

The silence was deafening, everyone in attendance dumbstruck.

Trying to process what had just happened the audience mutely watched B celebrate, Gaara nod and Naruto complain...While searching through his pockets?

Tsunade, high in the Kage's box removed her hand from her face and stopped groaning at the display to notice Naruto had finally found what he was looking for, putting voice to the question everyone was thinking she murmered "Are...Are those cue cards?"

Apparently so, because Naruto while staring directly at the cards proceeded to read out, in a delivery so wooden it would make a preschooler blush "Oh. No. Like. A. True. Squad. Leader. I. Placed. The. Needs. Of. The. Village. Over. Myself... " Stopping for a moment he flipped to the next card "...And. Completed. A. Number. Of. High. Ranking. Missions. It. Seems. I. Am. Still. Too. Fatigued. From. Those. Missions. To..." he stopped again, flipping to the next card "...Fight."

It seemed Gaara didn't need cue cards because he simply stepped forwards and addressed Ino directly, with a stunning display of monotone "I too, remain too fatigued from our missions during the break to participate in this fight. Like a true Squad Leader, I sacrificed my needs for the village." He turned to B "I apologise B, it appears you will need to fight alone. If you manage somehow to win despite being heavily outnumbered both me and Naruto should be recovered by the next round"

"NOT TO WORRY, LIKE A TRUE SQUAD LEADER I WILL CARRY THIS BURDEN ALONE"

It was hard to tell which was more shocking to A, the fact that B had said that without rapping or that B was apparently the opposite of Naruto... Instead of a wooden delivery he simply overacted everything, having delivered his proclamation while dramatically grabbing his team mates shoulders and staring deep into their eyes.

Mei took to staring death at the team, after spending as much time as possible taking full credit for the team this was all going to reflect back on her. Tsunade simply buried her head in her hands and groaned again _'What are those idiots doing...?'_

Ino seeing their performance was finally over, forced herself to stop compiling a list of untraceable poisons strong enough to kill even a Jinchuriki and through gritted teeth announced "Okay! Match St-"

"WAIT!"

Just barely retaining her fury at being interrupted she turned to the apparent leader of the Kiri team,

"Don't tell me you're just going to run away Uzumaki Naruto?!" Mesh shirt screamed, his words had a surprising amount of anger for a man who had gone from facing three S-class ninja to one.

"That's right! Come back here and fight like a man!" the kunoichi at his side announced stomping forward, the movement shaking her kimono open ever so slightly and leaving a significant amount of the male audience leering at her barely covered breasts.

"Huh?" Naruto turned back to the three utterly bewildered

The final member, wearing the open Jacket, stepped forwards at that, angrily drawing a hooked Kunai "My name is Komatsu Oko-"

"Whatever!" Naruto didn't care how rude he was being "What do you want?" he shot back waving his hand irritably at them _'these idiots are ruining our performance! People might realise me and Gaara were just faking it!' _

It seemed Jacket didn't have an answer prepared for that or perhaps he was too angry at the dismissal to respond, regardless the one in the Mesh Shirt stepped forwards "What do we want? We want to KILL YOU!" he finished off with an evil glare that Naruto supposed would probably be scary to someone who hadn't spent half their life fighting S-Class criminals.

"Huh?" asked again, searching his memory and pulling a blank, he really had no idea who these guys were.

Unfortunately Mesh shirt seemed to have taken that as an excuse to monologue "That's right! You see we, are no ordinary team of Genin!" he paused dramatically at that announcement with kimono and jacket both nodding along with that so Naruto decided to take their word on it "We have hidden our skill from even our own village and Jonin instructor" he laughed at that, clearly impressed at having fooled everyone "They thought us weak, but we were simply hiding our fangs, pretending to be weak useless Genin to get this opportunity!"

Naruto knew he should have known better than to expect to have a Chunin exam without at least one complicated back story so he didn't say anything while Kimono stepped forward and continued "The opportunity when you would finally be entering the Chunin exams! When we can kill you in front of your entire village!" she tried for her own evil glare but it wasn't quite as good as Mesh shirt's so Naruto opted to just oogle her barely concealed breasts.

Mesh shirt, seeing Kimono had Naruto's captive attention, or close enough, finished off "We've studied all your abilities, we know all your attacks and all your weaknesses Uzumaki, or... Should I say..." he paused for dramatic effect one last time "NAMIKAZE!?" he laughed, again "That's right! We know all about your-" suddenly seeing the shocked look he'd been expecting was instead just a deadpan confusion he finished lamely "uh... your heritage... What!?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Naruto felt completely out of his depth here, rubbing the back of his head embarrassed. Even his irritation at these people for messing up his and Gaara's performances was gone, now he just felt like he was missing something "I mean... Dad came and fought beside me against Madara. He called me his son in front of the whole ninja army. It's not like it's a secret or anything...?"

Seeing the three of them were looking back shocked he continued rambling "I mean... Didn't you guys say you were really powerful? Weren't you there...?"

Jacket seemed to recover first "Well, uh, I mean... We were pretending to be weak Gen-"

Mesh shirt cut him off before that went any further "IT DOESN'T MATTER! Your father! The Yondaime" he ground the title out with as much rage as possible, clearly trying to recapture the dramatic mood "Killed our parents!"

"Oh" Naruto felt a bit bad about that, he knew what it was like to grow up without parents "Yeah?"

"Yes! All our parents were brutally slain by your bastard father at the battle of Nagumo valley!"

Naruto, being a fan of the Yondamie since childhood, vaguely remembered that battle _'wasn't that the time the Yondaime saved a friendly village that was under siege by Kiri reserve troops? Wait a sec... That wasn't even in the last war! That was a border skirmish a few years before I was born'._ It made sense he supposed, they were a bit too young to have been born during the war. Regardless his sympathies lessened at that; if you went around attacking villages in the Land of Fire you had to expect that sort of thing.

"And now!" Mesh shirt was clearly on a roll "After years of training, of hiding our skills, we can finally have our revenge!"

Naruto blinked _'revenge? Oh right'_ the killing him thing "Well... Uh, it's not like I'm just gonna let you kill me..." he felt bad for them but not that bad.

Kimono tried her hand at evil laughter again "You won't need to LET us Namikaze! All of us are genius owners of incredibly powerful and supremely rare bloodlines!" she pointed at herself "In fact, I'm the last remaining member of the legendary-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Everyone fliched back, the arena suddenly drowning in angry kunoichi killing intent. Ino had finally run out of patience.

Naruto didn't think he'd ever heard Ino swear before... Judging by the death she was staring at him he didn't think he'd ever want to again. Stalking towards the teams, making sure she had everyone's full attention she raised her hand, instantly swiping it down "MATCH STARTS NOW"

Naruto felt torn, he didn't want to risk Ino's wrath and they obviously wanted to fight him but still, fair was fair...

"Well... I mean, you're fighting B... so..." he walked away; this would be so much easier if he was better at Janken.

"Huh, looks like we're gonna have to cut down his companions first" Jacket piped up, raising his kunai menacingly

"Don't worry" Kimono reminded them of their strategy "My abilities will make short work of this one"

Mesh shirt decided to simply glare menacingly, he'd expected a three on three battle, this would be easier than he'd ever dreamed

* * *

Fifteen seconds later B was walking over to Naruto and Gaara shrugging his shoulders.

"Well... That was anti-climatic" Naruto sighed looking at the unconscious Kiri team

"It appears to be a self fulfilling prophecy" Gaara spoke up, feeling philosophical "They appeared weak and thus were not given tough missions or training, ultimately they became weak. Self training only takes you so far."

Naruto looked at B who just shrugged again

"Oh well, apparently they were really powerful? Maybe that'll look good on us becoming squad leaders?"

"Bloodlines to a ninja are just another tool! Anyone who relies on them is a fool!" B apparently didn't think much of that chance.

"Next round will be awesome though!"

"I do prefer that plan" Gaara agreed

"Next round is gonna be fun for sure! Finally gonna get to give the full tour!" B gained a little bit of his enthusiasm back

* * *

"You did really well Mini-Hina!" having some time before his next match Naruto had wandered over to where the medical team was based "The way you dropped Udon in a second, that was awesome!"

Hanabi just smiled and quietly thanked him, her emotions in a whirl at the moment. She was still pretty woozy, having only regained consciousness a short while ago and it was only just sinking in that she'd been eliminated, that she'd been knocked out in the first round... She wondered what her father would think of her.

Naruto's presence just complicated things further. It was a little hard even talking to him, she wasn't sure what to say! She still hadn't properly thanked him for saving her life in the forest. She'd been intending to after the exams at the formal dinner her father was organising for him, she'd wanted to thank him and celebrate becoming a Chunin together with him.

That thought was what really struck it home to her. She'd lost. She had only one fight in the final and hadn't achieved anything spectacular, as a rookie she'd be very unlikely to be promoted... All her dreams of becoming a Chunin, the honour she would have brought herself doing it so young, the pride. It all came down at once.

Turning to her sister, Hanabi was surprised to find herself crying "I failed didn't I?" she whispered

"Not at all Hanabi-chan!" Hinata scolded gently, collecting her into her arms "You were amazing! A Kaiten? I didn't even know you'd learned the initial steps yet!"

"Especially considering it was two on three!" Naruto added reaching over to rustle her hair "Konohamaru's been a genin for way longer than you too... He's a pretty tough kid these days and you almost won at a disadvantage!"

Cheered up slightly Hanabi wondered aloud "Isn't your match meant to be now Naruto-san?" she smiled for a second "Did you already win? Did I miss it?" surprised to find herself feeling a little bit warmer she realised she'd quite wanted to see Naruto's strength from an outside perspective, having barely seen anything last time.

"You missed it yes, It was...Uh..." Hinata struggled for words "...Quite a performance"

"Ah, heh" Naruto looked a bit abashed at that, apparently Hinata-chan had seen through his acting! He should have taken Gaara's advice to memorise his cue-cards!

Deciding it best not to explain exactly what happened during his match he spent the next few minutes just chatting with the two Hyuuga ladies, making an effort to help Hinata cheer Hanabi up.

Soon enough the medics cleared her to leave, Hanabi insisted on watching the rest of the matches so Hinata took her to stands while Naruto headed off to go find Konohamaru and congratulate him properly.

'_I should probably watch these next matches too I guess, since we'll be fighting whoever wins?'_

Looking briefly it seemed the match between the Iwa and Suna team was drawing to a close, Suna about to win. That just left the Iwa and Kumo match to finish round one.

* * *

"Yo Konohamaru!"

"Boss! Hey! You saw me right, I did great didn't I!?"

Naruto smiled at the sight, it'd been about a half hour since his match and Konohamaru was still basking in his moment of glory, Moegi and Udon were happier than he could ever remember them too, so obviously Ebisu had been laying on the praise.

"Hell yeah! You brats did great! That was some really impressive teamwork"

He meant it too, watching Konohamaru's team all cover each other throughout the match had been impressive, it was a textbook example of why ninja operated in small cells. Partially it made him nostalgic for his days of Team 7, his team had split apart before they'd gotten to the level of intimate team knowledge Team Ebisu had showcased today, there'd been brief flashes of it at times between him and Sasuke but never three people all working in perfect harmony.

"I must thank you Naruto" Ebisu's words shook him from his thoughts "it seems your work with Konohamaru paid dividends after all"

"Hah Yeah?" Naruto was still terrible at accepting praise "Well yeah, definately! I'm a great teacher!" calming down for a minute he addressed Konohamaru directly "really though, it was hard work that got him here" it was true. Even if Konohamaru had mastered the Rasengan long ago there was no way he would have been able to bring it forth after using that many Kage Bunshins and Ash Clouds before the training.

"The last match just ended" Udon had apparently been the only one paying any attention to it. They all walked over to the edge of the balcony to watch as Ino declared the Kumo team the victors

"Oh? You guys'll be fighting first then won't you?"

Any response was cut off by Ino loudly directing the crowd's attention to the main screen, high above the Arena which was currently changing from displaying the matchups for round one to round two.

**Quarter Final**:

Team Kahae (Kumo) vs Team Ebisu (Konoha)

Team Terumi (Shinobi) – Bye

Team Isago (Suna) vs Team Hohiki (Kumo)

"We'll be taking a short break to clean up the arena floor. The next round will begin in ten minutes. Thank you!" Ino finished her announcement and walked away.

"Well, looks like you've got a few minutes" Naruto offered

Ebisu was suddenly all business "How are your injuries, are you rested enough?"

"I'm fine" Udon stated blandly, he hadn't been touched beyond the tenketsu points that had disabled him, luckily their effects had fully faded by now.

"I took a few hits but I'm okay" Moegi pipped up cheerfully, the only thing that'd really affected her was the genjutsu, that wouldn't leave any lasting effects.

"I'm good! I'm pumped! Watch me boss, this next fight will be even more amazing! Yeah!" Konohamaru seemed to be bursting out of his skin with excitement. Naruto couldn't help but be excited with him.

"You better win! You'll be facing my team if you win!"

That got everyone's attention; they hadn't looked that far ahead in the matchups.

Moegi and Udon suddenly looked worried, even Ebisu sighed as he pushed up his glasses. It was a shame but that would be a wall that would stop his students, there wasn't anything he could do about that.

Three Genin against two Jinchuriki and a Kage? The very idea of that fight was ridiculous, it made no sense, the more you thought about it the more it boggled the mind. If the opponent was anyone but Naruto he'd order his team to immediately surrender to save their lives. All he could hope for was that Naruto would give them a chance to give a good enough showing for their ranking.

Konohamaru however, was ultimately very similar to Naruto "Perfect! This'll be our revenge for the second stage!" jabbing his fingers into Naruto's chest once more he declared "We're far stronger than we were last time! Don't think we'll lose to you!"

His team mates stepped around beside him, this time backing up his insane boasts, nodding their agreement.

Naruto couldn't help but smile, it really was like watching a younger version of himself. Knowing the power difference and still holding too tightly on your ego and pride to back down even for a minute, it reminded him of the time he challenged Tsunade... And then when after knowing her insane power and legendary status he'd challenged her again.

'_I probably shouldn't do this...'_ he thought, having already made up his mind _'There's probably a rule against it or something'_

"**Psh**" Kurama snorted "**Just don't forget he's your opponent when you do face him. You're not planning on surrendering again are you?**"

'_One time! One time! Gah'_

Shutting that thought down, he took a step away from Konohamaru and held his fist out "Oi, brat" he nodded.

"Heh" Konohamaru didn't understand the meaning of the action but did it regardless, bumping it with his own fist... And was suddenly sent stumbling back "Woaaah" he called out surprised, "What was, wow, I feel good!" he declared, flexing his fist, clearly confused, but happy.

Laughing at the sight Naruto turned away heading back to his team to let them prepare "I better see you guys in the next round. Good luck you damn brats!"

Shoving his hands in his pockets with a cheeky grin on his face he ignored their renewed assurances. They'd been lucky in the first round really, while Mini-Hina's team had been skilled they hadn't caused any real injuries. Udon and Moegi were completely fine, having only been disabled. Even Konohamaru, the main target hadn't taken any real damage through the fight.

Unfortunately being the main target had other draw backs, as Ebisu had pointed out Konohamaru had needed a lot of chakra to win. Naruto chucked _'No idea how he was planning on fighting the next match with almost no chakra left.'_

"**How much did you give him?**"

'_Eh, only a fraction. Just a drop really'_

Said drop just so happened to be exactly enough to fill the boys chakra pool. There was something to be said about being a master at chakra transference.

"**I like that brat. It'll be interesting watching his match**"

He laughed at that _'You like another Konoha ninja? Geez, you really are just a big softie aren't ya?'_

Hearing a deafening roar of anger coming from within your very soul was always an odd experience.

* * *

Sitting beside Gaara and B watching Konohamaru's next match turned out to be one of the most frustrating experiences in Naruto's life.

Simply put, the team from Kumo had them outclassed. The actual skill levels weren't too different, if anything Team Ebisu probably had a slight edge due to the sheer power of the techniques Konohamaru knew, the Rasengan was a game changer whenever it was brought out.

Unfortunately it was a game changer he never got the chance to use, because Team Kahae had been watching the fight with Hanabi's team closely. Where Hanabi's team had focussed on taking down Konohamaru attempting strong direct actions to remove the biggest asset from the battlefield straight away, Kahae was doing the opposite. Using the trees on the edge of the arena to maximum advantage alongside long range ninjutsu they launched hit and run techniques aimed at Moegi and Udon.

Team Ebisu had wonderful team work and great team management, however by splitting Konohamaru's attention between defensive manoeuvres on both his team mates and being forced to avoid long ranged Raiton strikes, Konohamaru had few chances to go on the offence. Moegi was in a similar situation, most of her skills based around close quarter combat, she, like Konohamaru relied on Udon's support and genjutsu to close the gap against these types of enemies and with so much pressure on him Udon had to spend most of his time actively dodging or parrying their strikes, no chance to maintain the precise control needed by genjutsu.

B, knowing Naruto's relationship with team Ebisu and having no idea who team Kahae even was, did make an effort to keep his cheering low, but it was obvious pretty early on that Kumo would be taking this round.

Naruto simply spent the fight gritting his teeth and hoping for a sudden upset, a hidden strategy, something brilliant from the brats.

Unfortunately it wasn't to be. Konohamaru surprisingly, was the first to go down, having intercepted a strong Raiton technique aimed at Udon he was paralysed for just long enough to be intercepted by two of the Kumo team and dropped with lightning fast taijutsu.

Moegi managed to cut them off before they could retreat and return to their hit and run tactics, taking both of them on at the same time she traded taijutsu and close range ninjutsu back and forth while Udon, finally having some room created openings for her with rapid layered genjutsu and a few long range ninjutsu of his own.

Unfortunately that action ended up leaving him open for one last hit and run attack from the remaining member of the Kumo squad, who had used the confusion to circle around from behind and rushed in the moment he began his handseals, taking him out from behind with a Raiton Palm.

With the openings created by Udon, Moegi fought a brilliant last stand, knocking one of the Kumo team clear across the arena and severely injuring another before finally succumbing to her wounds and fatigue, utterly overwhelmed by their counterattack.

And so with three members down to one, team Kahae advanced to the next round while Naruto discovered he was strong enough to crush the section of the railing he'd been gripping in frustration.

There wasn't anything to do aside from watching his friends get carted off to the med bay. While they were all pretty badly wounded he didn't see anything that he thought would give them permanent injurues... Then again he was never very good at judging how badly injured others were, living life with an almost instant healing ability tended to skew his viewpoint on what was or wasn't serious or lasting.

"Shit"

Slumping back in his seat and nodding at the polite condolences offered by his team he found it hard to resist the desire to get petty revenge for Team Ebisu. The other team hadn't done anything bad, they hadn't been malicious or anything... But they'd still hurt his friends and probably crushed their chance to be Chunin!

'_No. No, it's fine'_ he sighed, calming his thoughts. He wasn't the kind of guy to bother with revenge, even thinking of revenge felt like he was betraying Ero-Sennin's memory._ 'We'll just go as we planned.'_

Still, that thought didn't cheer him up so he spent the next round sulking while Gaara and B cheered on their Genin for the final match of the round. Gaara gave his support to the Suna team with B supporting the final Kumo team.

As fate would have it, not only did the Kumo team win but according to the scoreboard for the next round Ino directed them to afterwards they also secured themselves the final Bye. No matter what happened at least one Kumo team was guaranteed to be in the grand final, you easily could hear the appreciation of that from the Kumo stands. Gaara was a bit upset at that, having only one Suna team in the finals always made it unlikely but he had wanted Suna to make a good showing of themselves.

**Semi Final**:

Team Kahae (Kumo) vs Team Terumi (Shinobi)

Team Hohiki (Kumo) – Bye

* * *

Any hopes Ino may have had for the Naruto's next match to not be as ridiculous quickly evaporated as she saw team Terumi standing in a semi circle again, staring each other down.

"JAN!"

'_I suppose it's easier to just have one member of Naruto's team fighting each time'_ she conceded, even if it was ridiculous. Of course that meant that there was a chance Naruto wouldn't get to fight this entire tournament, she wondered if he had a plan for that.

"KEN!"

'_Wow, Naruto and Gaara really suck at Janken' _she noted, wasn't Naruto meant to be great at gambling? Apparently his luck didn't stretch that far, seeing as he and Gaara had both thrown scissors and B beaten again them with a rock.

Everyone leaned forwards in their seats to watch what they assumed would be another performance, expecting Naruto and Gaara to bow out again, they were therefore surprised when aside from some grumbling from Naruto at losing again the whole team lined up ready for the match to begin.

Ino, with a familiar dread forming in the pit of her stomach, the knowledge that very soon something incredibly stupid was going to happen, had no choice but to begin the match "THIRD ROUND, MATCH START!"

And... That was the end of it. Everyone just blinked. One second the match had begun, the next Naruto was standing atop the body of one of their opponents and the other two sprawled backwards behind him.

'_S-sage mode!?'_ Ino was looking at him shocked, she had no idea why he'd used Sage mode against a team of Genin. She hadn't even seen him go into it! He must have been gathering nature chakra as they waited for her to start the match she realised... Even as a high level ninja she'd only just managed to follow what had happened, she doubted the civilians would have been able to see a thing. _'And, since when could he use an Orange Flash in Sage mode?'_ she noted his improvement, not seeing any 9-Tails chakra.

Suddenly jolted from her thoughts she realised she had a job she was meant to be doing "Alright! Winner Te-"

And to her annoyance, Ino was interrupted again "WAIT! OH NO, MY BODY... I CAN'T CONTROL IT!" B was once again overacting. "I MUST BE CAUGHT BY ONE OF THEIR JUTSU!" finishing the act he started making incredibly telegraphed attacks towards Gaara.

Ino resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands, one look at their opponents clearly showed they were unconscious. Most of the crowd seemed to have come to a similar conclusion based on the dumbfounded expressions she could see.

"Oh. No. Gaara! B. Has. Been. Caught. In. A. Mind. Control. Technique" Naruto was once again staring directly at the cue cards in his hands "It. Seems. To. Win. We..." he paused for a second flipping to the next card "Will. Have. To. Fight. Our. Friend!"

"Unfortunately so" Gaara finished, once again in a dead monotone, raising his sand to begin.

"Luckily" Tsunade's angry voice cut through the terrible performance "It seems they have no control of his Biju powers". She was clearly unimpressed; her glare from under her hat was visible even from the arena floor. Still she seemed to be allowing the performance to continue, Naruto grinned and cracked his knuckles "Of course"

Ino was even more shocked at that _'Tsunade-sama... Is helping them? She's letting this continue?'_ a second later she realised why '_Well, I suppose it might be a good show and without the 8-tails power it shouldn't be too dangerous...'_ so giving up, she simply dragged the three bodies of Team Kahae off to stop them from being caught in the crossfire.

The crowd, initially bewildered at the performance quickly realised exactly what they were being offered; a battle beyond anything you'd ever see in a Chunin exam, beyond anything you'd ever see even in the highly exclusive Jonin exams! A Kage and the 9-Tails Jinchuriki fighting against the 8-Tails Jinchuriki! Even without using their Biju powers, this was a matchup you would never see the likes of again. The excited roar of the crowd was drowning the stadium before the first punch was even thrown.

* * *

The fight was brutal, it was fast, it was decisive but most importantly it was decidedly one sided.

For all B's immense skill and experience, unlike both Naruto and Gaara almost all his training had been focussed around his status as a Jinchuriki. Naruto had been a ninja first and a Jinchuriki second, Gaara had simply been too unstable for most of his life for it to be worth risking training him to draw on his Biju's power.

So, while for Naruto not using the 9-Tails chakra simply meant losing some of his abilities and power, for B it was like cutting off an arm, having to stop himself from using partial transformation tentacles to block or avoid attacks meant constant conscious effort which notably sapped his focus and dulled his reactions.

That said, B would never be a pushover. Dispelling countless Kage Bunshins with chained ration techniques or slashing through the encroaching sand with Samehada he had the Kumo section of the crowd on their feet cheering their hearts out in seconds.

Naruto showcased a significant amount of his versatility through genius manipulation of Kage Bunshin, Henge and distraction techniques, catching B out multiple times through double or triple bluffs.

Gaara spent most of his efforts either supporting Naruto or redirecting B's counterattacks, stopping his advances through Sand Shurikens, herding his movements through Sand Bunshin and defending his attacks with Sand Shield techniques. Having no Biju of his own anymore his chakra reserves, while significant for a man his age, were simply dwarfed by Naruto or B's, so control and support was the smartest route for him.

The battle dragged on, back and forth over the better part of a half hour, high level technique followed high level technique back to back to the point where the crowd rather than being shocked at seeing B perform a flawless 6 stage Jumping Lightning technique were screaming for an unprecedented 7 stage technique. Rather than being blown away seeing Naruto use a double bluff of Kage Bunshin to set up a mid-size Rasenshuriken they were on their feet calling for more.

B, while taking significantly more damage than either Naruto or Gaara was still the second strongest Jinchuriki and thus held amazing durability and significant healing factor. Simply put, for all the endless attacks they launched at him, those that weren't batted away by Samehada simply served to show just how tough B truly was.

None the less he was breathing hard. B took a moment to create some space "Hah, you fools look beat. Isn't it about time to admit defeat?" as far as B could tell Gaara was still mostly fresh, Naruto had been doing most of the work so far, still, if he could just get one good swipe on him with Samehada that should be enough to force him to concede.

They still had to win the tournament after all, they weren't aiming to do irreparable harm to each other. If he beat one of them he would then surrender, claiming the Jutsu had dissipated, but! That would count as his victory! He smiled, he was beat, he was tired, he was bleeding, but it was a damn fun fight and he was enjoying every second of it. He intended to win!

"I believe it is you who should surrender. Why not save yourself the pain and stop here?" Gaara offered diplomatically, knowing he would decline.

Naruto didn't even wait for an answer "No need for that! I'll beat you in one more move! Gaara, c'mere, I've got a plan!" making a quick motion for Gaara to follow his lead he dropped a smoke bomb and they were swiftly hidden in a cloud of white smoke.

B created more space out of caution, he knew Naruto very well by now, they'd fought together multiple times and sparred together many more. He knew enough about Naruto to be wary of any plan the boy thought up. Naruto would be considered a tactical genius if only he could plan worth a damn anytime except on the fly... Still, he also knew Naruto well enough to know the basis of most of his plans, he was confident in his ability to see through them. Naruto never had much patience; the first attack should be soon, soon... There!

Rolling to his left he dodged a fuma shuriken, in the same motion throwing one of his supervibrato blades to dispel it when it turned out to be a transformed Naruto clone. A familiar tactic, he knew Naruto well, he wouldn't fall for his plans easily.

With no time to counterattack, he was surprised to find himself quickly pushed on his defence by a sudden barrage of sand attacks coming from Gaara. Assaulted from all directions with tendrils either attempting to slam into him, or catch him and slow his movements, dispelling attacks that close to the ground with Samehada wasn't feasible so he was forced to waste chakra sending lightning surges into the ground to keep the sand at bay. Still, he knew Gaara wouldn't be able to keep up a constant barrage of attacks for long, something like this was...

"A diversion!" he called out suddenly noticing the three Naruto's running directly at him Gaara had been attempting to prevent him from seeing. _'A double Rasengan'_ he realised quickly, with the main Naruto holding his hands back and two clones running directly behind him, there was nothing else it could be.

He could instantly see that Naruto had made a mistake, or perhaps Gaara hadn't been good enough. Naruto was one step too far away from him, he had just barely enough time to counterattack and disrupt the attack. It would be close, he would only make it by a fraction of a second but that moment was the edge between victory or defeat...

B quickly brought his sword up and smirked at the charging Naruto "Boyeee, I know all your tricks! You need more than that with Killer B in the mix!"

So saying he then abruptly jumped backwards, flipping in the air... Right over another set of Naruto's set to land a double Rasengan on his back the moment he attacked the first set.

"Hahah! Single bluff. Double bluff. Don't matter if you ain't good enough!"

Saying that, he ignored all the Naruto clones and showing off his insane speed charged directly at where Gaara was standing in the now dissipating smoke... Right at the conspicuous Naruto standing beside him.

"I know you, I know your plan! Everyone thinks, only a fool attacks with their real self. So you bait with a clone and risk yo health!"

To the audience struggling to keep up, the display was definitely impressive! Naruto defiantly appeared to have something planned but it seemed B was seeing through him so far, but then, why was he attacking what he knew was a clone?

"But! You know I knew!" moving so swiftly Naruto couldn't even react he slammed Samehada down "The real body is YOU!"

Naruto stumbled back horror stricken, "Wha... How?" he grasped desperately at the huge gash forming down his chest, shocked.

The crowd silenced, Naruto's plan had been seen straight through? Naruto, an almost legendary figure to many, had just been beaten?

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

Tsunade reeled back in surprise.

"No!" Hinata gasped, tightening her grip on Hanabi's hand, shocked and worried.

Sakura just smiled a knowing smile.

Naruto... Exploded into sand

"Wha!?" B cried out caught completely flatfooted as the sand surged towards him, catching him around his knees and rooting him dangerously in place, forcing him to swing Samehada into the ground to dislodge himself, which gave Gaara enough of an opening to send two spikes of Sand at B's hands, forcing him to release his grip on the sword and leap back unarmed.

His mind was spinning at a hundred miles an hour, if that wasn't Naruto, then, he must be one of the ones who'd attacked him before... But that didn't make sense... He knew Naruto's plans, that didn't fit, that didn't give him any advantage... His mind spun at a hundred miles an hour and always landed in the same place, where was Naruto?

Luckily he didn't have to wonder for long as the ground below him opened up and he was launched into the air from a vicious uppercut courtesy of a tunnelling Naruto.

The attack left him completely open for just a moment, hanging suspended in the air for just a second.

Which was long enough for three clones to form around the revealed Naruto, running their hands over his until he held what appeared to be a standard Rasengan orbited by three smaller Mini Rasengan... An attack he'd never seen before.

"PLANETARY RASENGAN!"

In Sage mode it didn't have a fraction of the power it had in his perfect 9-Tailed Chakra mode, he could only stabilise a standard Rasengan and some Mini-Rasengan, not an Odama Rasengan orbited by standard Rasengan... The power was almost incomparable. Yet, it was still an S-Rank technique more powerful than anything most of the audience had ever seen. When it drilled into B's stomach and sent him flying across the arena to slam into the wall it was clear the match was over.

The sudden turn of events was so surprising it took a few moments for the audience to suddenly start roaring their approval at Naruto and Gaara's victory, awe struck both at Naruto's sheer amount of plans within plans and for Gaara's masterful support, seeing the true plan instantly and adjusting his role to suit.

And of course, as they helped B to his feet and let him loudly declare that the Jutsu controlling him had been broken the audience cheered for him so loudly it was impossible to hear Ino declare Team Terumi the victor and announce their participation in the final round.

* * *

Team Terumi lead B over to the med bay, Sakura herself rushing forwards to take care of the man as Ino directed the crowd to the main display one final time

**Grand Final**:

Team Terumi (Shinobi) vs Team Hohiki (Kumo)

It was then declared that since they had just fought there would be a twenty minute rest period. Enough time for the fighters to bandage their wounds and for anyone in the audience to stretch their legs.

B, while dazed at first from Naruto's attack was quickly back on his feet rapping, swearing his victory in a rematch and generally bursting with his normal energy. Sakura explained in great detail exactly why but Naruto tuned her out just picking up the basic gist of it. Apparently because he'd only used his normal chakra and not touched Gyuki's his healing factor covered the injuries quickly and he still had all his reserves. So, a few minutes under Sakura's expert Ministrations restored his normal chakra and he was at full strength at a speed that to a non-Jinchuriki was frightening.

Sakura having had so much experience with Naruto expected nothing less, the other medics struggled to contain incredulous glances. They'd all heard about the power of a Jinchuriki but seeing just how tough they were, it was hard to imagine one ever being taken down. To be back to full power in minutes after fighting two Kage level shinobi and taking an S-Rank jutsu to the gut was to a normal ninja simply beyond imagining.

With nothing else to do before the grand final Gaara opted to begin meditating, aiming to get back his full reserves before the next round. B and Naruto settled for simply hanging out with Sakura, Naruto especially was happy about that, he hadn't had much time to talk with her since the break for the final test.

Sakura surprisingly enough was receptive to this, enjoying her time with the two hyperactive, loudmouth ninja. Unlike the second test, Naruto's team's ridiculous actions made her job significantly easier, none of the participants had been seriously injured and anyone that'd fought Team Terumi had simply been unceremoniously knocked out, with no lasting injuries.

* * *

Fifteen minutes after Ino's announcement it was a refreshed and buoyant Team Terumi facing off against a fearful team Hohiki for the grand prize.

The crowd, surprisingly enough, actually seemed interested in this ridiculously unfair match. Team Terumi had managed to be nothing if not entertaining so far, everyone was anxious to see what they'd pull out this time!

Ino having learned her lesson, this time made a point of waiting for Naruto's ridiculous Janken antics and was surprised to see his team simply lined up, ready to begin. Sighing, she decided to just get it over with, raising and lowering her hand before anyone could even think to interrupt her "FINAL MATCH! BEGIN!"

Team Terumi didn't move, just stood in a line smiling balefully at their opponents. Somehow that made it even worse.

Team Hohiki, fearing the worst but wanting to make the best of the situation and at least display their talents didn't move... Attacking three S-Class ninja was ridiculous at the best of times, doing so recklessly right now, in front of an audience would quickly torpedo any chance they had at promotion.

Their best bet was to wait for an opening and scatter, attempt to single the members out and launch hit and run techniques, two of their members were kenjutsu specialists, so they had a good chance of dealing at least some damage... Or at least of looking impressive while achieving nothing, they didn't have a lot of hope.

Still, staring down at three legendary ninja it was all they could do to not scatter instantly, only the knowledge that doing so would mean instant defeat held them back. To just turn and try run without an opening was the most basic mistake any Genin could make, they just had to hope, one moment, one slight gap from overconfidence...

Unfortunately for them instead the Kazekage slowly walked towards them, a slight smile on his face extending one hand out in front of him.

"I wanted to congratulate you on making it this far in the exams" he said, neither slowing nor increasing his pace.

"You must have worked very hard. Well done"

Before they knew it he was right in front of them, extending his hand to their leader. It wasn't an offer they could refuse! Even being from a foreign village, you can't just snub the Kazekage!

And so, extending his hand warily to meet Gaara's their leader was completely taken off guard when Gaara suddenly exploded into sand! He was screaming in shock as the sand quickly spread across his team, gripping them up to their knees and holding them tightly in place. The real Gaara now appearing from the ground beside his team, gave them a pleased smile as they strained futily to free themselves.

"Final Match! Here we go!" They looked up to see Naruto dispelling his bunshin, holding a fully completed Odama Rasengan, sprinting towards the terrified Genin.

"Wooooo!" B whooped, looking over they saw lightning coursing through his arm as he prepared his famous Lariat, he too leapt forwards.

"It's over" Gaara confirmed raising his hands to crush their legs into paste.

The ending was as obvious as it was disappointing

"I SURRENDER! I SURRENDERISURRENDERISURRENDERISURRENDER!"

"WE SURRENDER! OH GOD! WESURRERNDER! STOP!"

"WAIT! I GIVE! I GIVE! STOP!"

* * *

As Ino declared Team Terumi the winners the reactions in the Kage's box was mixed.

A seemed to find the whole thing hilarious. While it was a shame to see two Kumo teams beaten in a row, the show they'd put on had him laughing uproariously.

Mei was quite pleased. She'd been worried about their ridiculous displays after the first round but other than terrible acting (how do you manage to get to their level of power as a ninja and still not be able to conceal information she wondered) they'd displayed overwhelming strength and in the 2v1 battle shown a great grasp of tactics. While they were definitely unorthodox she was more than happy to take full credit for all their abilities and strength, they had represented Kiri well!

Onoki's reaction was similar to A's, no Iwa teams were competing after the first round so he'd mostly tuned out the matches aside from team Terumi. While he didn't get much from the trip in terms of promotable Genin, he'd gotten a great deal of amusement and that would suffice.

Kankuro was just relieved the whole thing was finally over. He wondered for the hundredth time how they managed to wear such ridiculous clothes, the hat was really starting to irritate him. At least he'd been able to push the remaining paperwork on Temari until Gaara returned. On second thought, since he'd done it via a note he'd left her before leaving the village, it might be best if he stayed in Konoha for a short time until Gaara got back...

Tsunade had finally removed her head from her hands and finished groaning to take in Ino walking to the center of the ring and going through the motions declaring team Terumi the victors with all the standard accolades.

She knew she should be mostly grateful. Whichever Chunin exam Naruto finally entered was pretty much guaranteed to be a wash regardless, his power was so out of the bounds he couldn't help but ruin it... This was definitely the best exams to have him in, most of the promising Genin had already been promoted after the war, most of the teams she'd entered had been just getting experience in the exams. She assumed the other Kage's had done similar judging by the quality she'd seen.

But still _'I entered 20 damn teams in this exam and none of them are candidates...'_ she groaned again, _'That damn brat. Ruined the entire exam'_ she knew it would be bad. She knew it. She'd just hoped it wouldn't be this bad. She sighed one last time, perking herself up _'At least it's finally over. Naruto's finally done his damn Chunin exam, he did look strong, it'll reflect very well on us, it's over and done with... Wait...Huh... Was that Naruto's voice?'_

"YEAH! I SAID, THAT WAS TOO BORING!" Naruto's voice, seemingly amplified with chakra (or maybe he just was that loud? It was hard to tell with him) echoed across the stadium, was easily heard over the remaining polite cheering and clapping of the crowd.

'_Oh no...'_

"WHO WANTS TO SEE SOME REAL ACTION!?"

'_Nonononononono'_

Tsunade panicked. He was doing something stupid, again...

A laughed harder, enjoying the show.

Onoki joined him, who knew Konoha ninja were so interesting?

Mei raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Kankuro wondered if it'd be okay to take the hat off, the tournament was over right?

The crowd's reaction was immediate, a huge roar drowning out any possible complaints Ino or anyone else may have raised.

The decision was clearly made.

* * *

The atmosphere being generated in the arena floor was strong enough that even a Jonin would find it hard to stand. Three Kage level Shinobi, each legends of their time standing in a triangle along the edges of the arena, staring each other down.

"Free for all, of course" Gaara clarified unnecessarily

"Oooh yeah!" B agreed, drawing the Samehada and forming a few octopus tentacles around him, his partial 8-Tails state giving him an ominous appearance.

"One thing!" Naruto declared as he prepared clones to channel natural chakra for him "We gott'a keep this fair y'know? Gaara doesn't have a Biju anymore..." trailing the obvious implication off, he opened his eyes achieving Sage mode.

"Me and Mr 8 are a pair! One fighting without the other is unfair!" B grumbled but did accept that without any Biju Gaara would be unfairly unmatched and retracted the tentacles. He wasn't too worried, Samehada alone gave him enough of an edge.

"TRUE FINAL MATCH... LET'S GO!" Naruto called out, forming a legion of clones as he sprinted towards the center of the arena to meet the similar assaults of Gaara and B.

Anyone in the crowd who had been thinking of leaving with the conclusion of the exams quickly changed their minds, either hurrying back to their seats or to whatever space could be found against the railing of the balconies.

For the civilians of the audience, the kind of people who had yet to fully understand the difference between a true S-Class Shinobi and even an A-Rank legend the battle was simply impossible to put into words. High level techniques flowed like water, all three ninja dealing and taking insane amounts of damage. Naruto and B were like juggernauts shrugging off any damage dealt to them, Gaara was avoiding most damage and cushioning what he couldn't with an Armour or Shield of Sand.

In the Iwa, Kiri or miscellaneous sections the crowd mostly cheered whoever was currently displaying the most impressive technique.

They cheered for Gaara when he not only escaped an omnidirectional Rasengan Barrage but did used his sand to change the arena in such a way that B ended up taking a large amount of hits.

They yelled for B when he opened his Samehada to pull out five supervibrato blades and then somehow managed to wield them as well as the two handed Samehada, performing a kenjutsu style that beyond being flashy and ridiculous was impossible to counter and incredibly effective. Mowing though Gaara's desperate defences and stopping any assault Naruto attempted.

They whooped when Naruto, the most recognizable of the three, fooled everyone right before their eyes. Fighting less as a prankster and more as a magician, misdirection, bluffs, clones and transformations backed up by unquestionable strength and the sheer unstoppable taijutsu power of the Frog Kata. They watched even Gaara's absolute defense or B's incredible reactions do nothing against the natural energy that surrounded his attacks, huge damage being dealt without even needing to land the hit.

The Suna ninja undoubtedly cheered on their Kazekage, cheering and bellowing as he showed over and over again that he was without doubt the strongest in their village. His brilliant tactics and incredible techniques allowing him to stand strong even against the greatest two Jinchuriki.

The Kumo ninja were even less reserved, stamping their feet and hollering with all their might for B. While he had at times been a reclusive figure, none doubted the importance of his role as Guardian of Kumo. The legends of his exploits in the last war had spread far throughout Kumo and beyond, seeing them on display here, with his unstoppable power, his unique fighting style, his instinctive moulding of lightning chakra it was clear that even without his Biju he was an amazing figure.

Unsurprisingly though, loudest of all were the Konoha spectators. Aside from outnumbering the other ninja by a considerable margin the Konoha crowd, especially among Naruto's close friends showed absolutely no restraint in yelling or screaming for his victory. For most of them the last time they'd ever gotten a chance to see the "Hero of Konoha's" now legendary power had been either in the final battle against Madara or when he was fighting Pain after the destruction of Konoha...They quickly found it was far more enjoyable to see the skills displayed here with nothing at stake.

Possibly most surprising was that the battle raged back and forth between the three contestants mostly evenly.

Waves of Bunshin were cleared before a decisive Rasengan could land on B and the real body was discovered and forced to defend itself from being impaled by spikes of sand. The Samehada cut through Gaara's sand easily but was assaulted time and again by Naruto's clones and B was forced to use his supervibrato blades to dispel Rasengan after Rasengan keeping him from landing any kind of decisive blow. Spikes and tendrils of sand relentlessly attacked both B and Naruto, yet Gaara constantly had to pull resources back into himself to prevent a key Raiton strike or to desperately avoid a Rasenshuriken.

Quite simply, with Naruto limited to Sage mode and B not using his 8-Tails power they were unable to gain and upper hand either on each other or on Gaara. Gaara while having no restraints on his power had significantly lower limits. Any chakra used on defence was chakra he couldn't use to defeat or disable his foes.

The fight dragged on for more than a half hour before the breaking point finally occurred.

B charged towards Gaara with his signature Lariat, Gaara's sand surged forwards wrapping it around B's legs, lacking the strength to stop him completely but with enough to disrupt and break the technique... However, the difference in stamina finally caught up to him and for just a moment his Sand lacked the strength required, for less than a second he faltered.

Long enough for B to beak the hold and charge towards him as little more than a blur,Llariat aimed at his chest, slamming right into Gaara.

Gaara's desperate sand armour was smashed apart by the incredible speed and force of the Lariat. The Kazekage was sent flying.

The damage was heavy, the strongest hit Gaara had ever received... However, it was recoverable, sucking in what air he could he attempted to orient himself to land and create distance. Unfortunately, looking up Gaara suddenly saw he was heading directly for a group of Naruto Bunshin.

"UZU-"

Without time to react his momentum was stopped as four kicks slammed into him, sending him skywards

"-MAKI!"

Feeling his sand armour completely gone, Gaara could only watch in horror as another Naruto appeared above him in the air... Suddenly becoming three more, each holding a Rasengan

"RASEN RENDAN!"

He was sent hurtling back to earth at frightening speed, slamming into the dirt without hope for any form of recovery and skidding along the ground to crumple against the wall of the arena. It was clear his match was over, yet, it was a testament to the strength and will of the Kazekage that even after such a hit, even after doubling over and coughing up blood Gaara never lost consciousness.

The Suna ninja screamed in fury at seeing their Kage so unfairly ganged up on, screaming for vengeance but the damage was already done. Gaara was quickly converged on by the medical team and removed from the crossfire of the battle.

Naruto and B however were in their own world, stopping opposite each other after the removal of Gaara.

"You know boy, no reason to hold back now! We're both Jinchuriki, time to show em how!" B was grinning, finally, finally he would get to display his full power. Feeling all eight Tentacles form, quickly taking on his full transformed state he let out a roar of joy.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto agreed, drawing his power in for just a moment before combining his Sage mode with his Perfect Nine Tails Chakra mode.

"**I will never lose to the 8-Tails!**" Kurama shouted in Naruto's soul, forming his head beside Naruto and roaring his bloodlust.

For the audience, it was clear, everything had changed. The battle was about to be fought on a level far beyond anything they'd ever dreamed. The sections near B were practically smothered in the excitement and exuberance rolling off his chakra, converted from the 8-Tail's malevolent mass. Those near Naruto side of the arena were simply awash in the joy and excitement they could feel from his transformation of the 9-Tails chakra.

The two Shinobi stood still for a moment, each in their most powerful state. Their sheer presences clashing, vying for dominance... For just a second.

Then the battle truly began.

Clashing together, it was almost impossible to keep up with actions, Naruto disappearing and reappearing with little more than an Orange Flash. B defending and pushing back with the legendary Lightning Speed of Kumo.

A group of Kage Bunshin were dispersed and a Planetary Rasengan was deflected into a (thankfully empty) section of the Arena wall, blowing it to pieces and sending all but the strongest spectators reeling back at the shockwave.

A pair of Raiton Bunshin and Tail-Clones were caught and dispersed with a Rasenkyugan, the resulting lightning crackling through the air.

Three Octopus tails were lost to a double Rasenshuriken.

Four Fox tails were destroyed by an unheard of 8 stage Jumping Lightning technique.

The damage to the ground and to the walls of the stadium made it very clear, by now Naruto and B were engrossed solely in their fight. Caught in their own world, they were intent on nothing more and nothing less than complete victory. It was a spectacle impossible to take your eyes off... Yet, while it wasn't dangerous just yet, it was clearly escalating...

Suddenly, without a word, without a comment, with nothing more than a clash of fists in mid air both fighters leapt apart, landing opposite each other near the center of the arena.

Both stared each other down.

They knew it was time for victory or defeat, time for the final blow.

The crowd stared in anticipation, silencing instinctively.

Suddenly the nature of the chakra changed, a huge spike of force collecting in front of both fighters, as if all the energy in the region was being collected in a single super dense point. Anyone who had survived the final push against Madara instantly recognised the feeling, staring forward in muted horror and a shared thought of _'OH SHIT!' _

A giant Fox head covered Naruto, mouth open around his hands forming black mass of destruction.

"BIJU"

B, transformed as 8-Tails had his mouth wide open, collecting as much power as possible, a giant black mass forming ahead of him.

"DA-"

Suddenly a sound like a meteor hitting the ground echoed through the stadium, before the accompanying earthquake shook the arena to its foundations.

"Whaaa!"

"Oaaaah!"

Both fighters losing their concentration were suddenly hit by the backlash from their failed Biju Dama and blown back with unbelievable force into the walls of the arena. Their Biju power released, they each slumped down stunned.

* * *

"Woah" B shook his head '_What happened?' _he thought dizzily _'An earthquake?' _ suddenly his mind cleared enough that he was feeling his entire body screaming at him, the Biju Dama blowing up in his face and being slammed into the arena wall, on top of all the damage Naruto had done to him, he suddenly realised he couldn't move.

He then quickly realised that was a very bad thing... For walking out of the giant crater that used to be the center of the arena was Tsunade Godaime Hokage and she did not look happy. No he corrected, suddenly very fearful, no, she did not look happy at all.

"Uah"

Naruto blinked, confused, "What hit me?" groaning as he tried to move his body and finding it spending all its strength recovering from the damage he'd taken he slumped back and attempted to figure out what had just happened. _'An earthquake? But- Oh... OH SHIT!'_

Looking at the scene of said earthquake he could see the unforgettable figure of the legendary Slug Sanin as she stormed over to B, picked him up by his vest and turned his way, heading right for him.

Desperately urging his body to move Naruto panicked, this was bad, this was beyond bad. He hadn't seen Baa-chan this mad since... He'd never seen her this mad!

"Baa-chUrk!"

That was as far as he got before he was unceremoniously yanked off the ground by the collar of his jacket.

Both S-Rank Ninja, held aloft by the Hokage, wilted under her deathly glare.

"ARE YOU IDIOTS TRYING TO DESTROY MY ARENA!?"

Wincing at her volume, they gulped in unison.

"YOU WANT TO FIGHT!? DO IT OUTSIDE MY VILLAGE!"

So saying, Tsunade gave an amazing demonstration of her renowned strength, rearing back and hurling both Jinchuriki out of the stadium and far into the distance.

Then turning to the stunned crowd she quickly dismissed them "Show's over folks. Thank you again for your kind participation"

And that, without fanfare or further ceremony, was the end of the Chunin Exams.

* * *

**Epilogue**

It was a rather sheepish Team Terumi that was called into Tsunade's office the next day, the summons wasn't exactly unexpected, instead it was something they were dreading. It wasn't hard to imagine that the Hokage would be very displeased with their actions throughout the final... Especially the final act between B and Naruto.

Despite dragging their feet and wincing from their still healing injuries they all showed up on time. No reason to give her another thing to be angry at them for.

Ushering in by a frazzled looking Shizune they were soon standing in front of Tsunade as she ignored them, clearly intent on letting them sweat as she worked through some of the mountain of paperwork on her desk.

A few minutes later, just as Naruto had begun to twitch, her steely voice broke the silence and she looked up at them just "So"

She gestured at a stack of paperwork at least half a meter high, the largest pile of paperwork on her desk "What do you think these are?"

The question was clearly meant to be rhetorical, intending for them to sit and sweat for another few moments, Naruto of course missed that and took a wild stab "Uh... New missions for Konoha? Oh!" he brightened at that idea "Any good ones for me?"

"Not quite. No" Tsunade smoothly answered, raising to her full height to stare down at them. "These are requests from dignitaries, councilmen, foreign nations and even from some of the exam proctors. They all say more or less the same thing."

She pinned Naruto with an ice cold glare, freezing him in place "They have all requested, to ensure that nothing like this debacle ever happens again..."

She paused for a moment, letting him fret "...They have requested that I promote you directly to Jonin. I have decided to accept these requests"

With that she reached down beside her and picked up a Jonin flack jacket and certificates of confirmation for both Chunin and Jonin status, clearly having prepared this for their arrival.

Walking around the desk her glare had turned into a loving smile as she handed the items to a stunned Naruto before pulling him into a warm hug, burying him into her mountainous chest "Well deserved and about time... Congratulations you damn brat."

Blinking back surprised tears of joy, Naruto stepped back finally letting it sink in just what he was holding "Jo...Nin... Jonin... Jonin! Jonin! JoninJoninJoninJonin! I'M A JONIN! YEAH!"

Tsunade privately thought of herself a bit like a mother figure for Naruto, thinking that if she'd had a son she'd want him to be like he was, and so, like a proud mother enjoyed watching his frenzied celebration for a few minutes before returning to her desk to address the remaining issues at hand.

"Kazekage-sama, Killer B" she pulled both of them away from their jubilant congratulations to Naruto, having aimed to make Chunin this was clearly more than any of them had been expecting "while my jurisdiction doesn't extend outside my village I am assured that your villages have both received similar requests. From my discussions with Raikage-sama I expect a similar promotion for yourself Killer B and you will no doubt be asked to award yourself Jonin status as well Kazekage-sama"

With that Naruto quickly pulled them all into his celebrations, eagerly celebrating their own triumph as well. Despite the fact that Gaara as a Kage and that everyone had forgotten B wasn't a Jonin, it felt surprisingly good to actually earn it!

Coughing lightly to get their attention again Tsunade continued "No other Konoha teams are being considered for promotion this time around so we were able to make this decision very quickly. Really... I had twenty teams entered this time, you guys really overdid it" She groaned.

Too happy to even feel guilty Team Terumi barely even responded.

The meeting concluded they thanked the Hokage one last time with Naruto suddenly running over to hug her again, earning himself a warm smile. Turning to leave, Naruto was already discussing plans for a celebratory party.

"Oh ah, just... One more thing" Tsunade's voice stopped them just short of the door.

Walking back over to the desk she pushed a new piece of paper to each of them. Picking it up Naruto paled... It was a bill... He looked at the bottom, a very, very large bill. He looked back at Tsunade who was now sporting a rather predatory grin, leaning over the desk onto her hands.

"That's to cover the damage caused to the Arena" she explained as if it was nothing "Kazekage-sama, Killer B, the costs will be delivered directly to your villages and it'll be up to them to determine how they pay. Naruto... That's coming directly from a portion of your wages"

Naruto looked back at the bill again and saw the details, a portion of his wages... A large portion. Unless he got a lot of S-class missions he was going to be back to only Instant Ramen for the next few months.

B had a similar reaction, able to guess how the fee would be paid by his village "This is a big bill... Gonna take a long time to pay my fill" he rapped weakly.

"But Hokage-sama" Gaara smoothly interjected looking up from his own bill "While my team may have caused significant damage, it was during your village's tournament. As per our treaties and agreements all damages incurred are covered by the hosting village... Suna has always done the same when it was our turn to host."

Breathing out a sigh of relief Naruto relaxed _'This is why it's always so important to keep someone smart like Gaara or Sakura-chan around!' _he reminded himself looking at the number at the bottom of the bill again, that could have been bad!

"Oh of course Kazekage-sama" to Naruto's horror Tsunade's grin looked bigger if anything "And rest assured Konoha will fully cover any damage incurred to our facilities during the tournament, as we agreed... This bill however" she gestured again at the paper they were all holding "is for the damage caused by your little tournament after the exam had been officially declared over."

Realisation dawned.

"Oh... Right." It wasn't everyday you saw Gaara caught off guard.

B just sighed.

Naruto thought for a moment then shrugged, grinning again as he pulled his new jacket on and zipped it up. A few months on instant Ramen? Higher mission load? Less savings? Whatever, he could deal with that, he was a Jonin.

"Worth it" he decided happily, his infectious joy giving the others no choice but to share it.

**End Chapter 3.**

* * *

**Omake**

One week after the end of the exams Naruto was walking the last few steps towards the Hyuuga clan territory. Tonight being the night he'd been invited as a guest of honour to a formal dinner to thank him and celebrate his promotion...

He tried hard to remember the quick overview on formalities the messenger had given him... _'Gott'a call Hinata-chan's dad Hiashi-sama or Hyuuga-sama... Uhh what else?' _He was really regretting not putting more effort into paying attention to what the guy had said, a formal dinner, he was completely out of his element.

'_At least Sakura-chan helped me look the part'_ he supposed, slightly wishing he was still wearing his new Jonin jacket, he'd barely taken it off since getting it, having even slept in it a few times. Still, he had to admit the kimono she'd helped him pick out hadn't been too bad and she'd barely complained when he'd insisted on the burnt orange one instead of the more subdued colour she'd recommended.

"Ah, Uzumaki-san. Just one moment" Lost in thought he looked up at that to see he'd arrived, one of the branch house members at the gate was already heading inside the estate to tell them he was here. Gulping slightly he pushed down his nervousness.

A minute later he was relieved to see the familiar smiling face of the Hyuuga heiress instead of one of the branch house members he'd been expecting to lead him inside "Good evening, Naruto-kun" Hinata greeted him softly.

"Ah hey! Hinata-chan!" throwing her a grateful smile he moved beside her and into the main compound. Even with all the time he'd spent with Hinata since the war he'd rarely been inside the compound itself, seeing the size of the place, he was glad he had someone to guide him around. He'd get lost in moments.

With Naruto looking around Hinata took it upon herself to offer some small talk "I-It's good to see you again" she offered "I haven't seen you since... ano... since your party... I'm glad to see you're okay Naruto-kun."

That made him laugh, the memories instantly driving away his nervousness. "Oh yeah! That was great! I.. Heh, I don't really remember any of it though"

His Jonin celebratory party had been, as far as he was concerned, a smashing success. All his friends had been there, everyone had been in a great mood... And with the spirit of celebration Kurama had even agreed to turn his healing powers off for a few hours, leading to his first ever experience getting drunk.

Unfortunately, so used to alcohol not affecting him and drinking with people who had a tolerance to it, Naruto had no idea of his limits and had been absolutely trashed in minutes, he'd promptly passed out within an hour.

"You... You were pretty wild that night Naruto-kun" Hinata smiled at the memory "You don't remember a thing?" she, probably more than anyone else had actually enjoyed Naruto's drunken antics. It turned out, predictably she thought, that rather than being an angry or weepy drunk alcohol simply removed what little inhibitions Naruto normally had, turning his innate Naruto-ness up to new levels.

Not something she'd want to see too often of course, it'd be too much even for her but, remembering one part of the night when she'd suddenly been ambushed and surrounded by three Kage Bunshin before they'd dragged her off to dance with them... She'd thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Realising she'd become slightly lightheaded blushing at that thought, Hinata forced herself to back to reality where Naruto was explaining the little bits and pieces he did remember or that other people had filled in over the next few days. Leading him towards where her family was waiting she made small talk and filled in a few tales of her own from the night.

* * *

"Uzumaki-san" Hanabi greeted before bowing low "I want to thank you for your assistance in the forest and congratulations on your promotion to Jonin"

Naruto smiled nervously at the clearly rehearsed greeting, even when expecting it, seeing the proud Mini-Hina bowing respectfully to him was a little surprising.

"Indeed. Congratulations Uzumaki-san. We have all seen great things from you, such a promotion is well deserved" Hiashi added his own thanks, saving him from having to give a reply straight away "And more importantly" at that he inclined his own head respectfully towards Naruto "You have my deepest thanks for your assistance towards my daughter. The Hyuuga owe you a great debt, a great many debts in fact" he added as he straightened back up.

"Ah, well, hah" Naruto floundered for a moment before remembering he'd rehearsed this! "Um... It was no problem at all. I'd always help any comrade and uh" he ad-libbed "I like Mini-Hina! She's a friend!" he smiled warmly at the girl in question as she winced at him using that nickname in front of her father "Anyway, uh" going back to what he'd planned he gave what he hoped was a polite bow "I wanted to thank you for having me tonight uh, Hyuuga-sama"

Hiashi blinked actaully caught off guard by the politeness... That was unexpected. He'd been warned by his retainers to expect an incredibly insulting nickname, especially considering how he talked to the Hokage.

Pride swelling slightly at that thought Hiashi waved his thanks off, directing them all in to the dining room.

* * *

With a seat prepared for him between Hinata and Hanabi the dinner itself ended up being a far more comfortable affair than Naruto had dared hope for.

Hanabi had been awkward around him at first, more polite and stiff than usual. Luckily after teasing her a bit and calling her Mini-Hina in front of the rest of her family she'd acted more like her normal self and he'd had fun just talking to her. She'd congratulated him again on becoming a Jonin and talked about her plans and training to take the test again in six months.

Hinata was always easy to talk to, the trick was getting her to talk back, especially in group settings. She clammed up a few times when he teased her too much and went bright red and ramrod straight when Hanabi cheekily pointed that out Hinata had been in charge of the seating and had organised to be sitting next to him. Still, she'd come a long way, shy or not he'd never forget the woman she was standing in front of him, facing down Madara and calling for the solidarity of the Shinobi Alliance.

The rest of the Hyuuga family he mostly only made small talk with or answered the questions they posed him. He didn't know any of them except that they were influential members from both the main and branch houses; he'd been pleasantly surprised to see that both houses ate together without distinction, wondering if that had always been the case.

Hiashi was the consummate host, engaging Naruto directly a few times but mostly directing him to conversations with other family members. While slightly awkward at first, it helped Naruto get comfortable with the conversations quickly, the only problem then being that Naruto had to struggle to keep calling him "Hyuuga-sama" having already decided on the perfect nickname for the man.

The food, despite not being ramen, was among the best he'd ever eaten and there seemed to be course after course! While he did his best to maintain the table manners that Sakura had so painfully drilled into him, he did still accidently make Hinata giggle a few times when he'd swallow a dumpling whole or piled his plate up for the fifth time.

So, all in all, Naruto considered it a successful night. He'd mostly been good about his manners; it didn't look like he'd horribly offended anyone at least. The food had been good and even though he didn't really know many of the people there they'd all been very polite to him, asking him to tell some of the best stories from his adventures. Aside from that he'd spent most of the evening talking to Hinata and thoroughly enjoying the warm feeling he got when he spent time with her lately.

Seeing that this was his first formal dinner, Naruto was caught off guard when after the final course was laid out, Hiashi called for everyone's attention, claiming he had an announcement to make.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I have invited you here ostensibly to give you the deepest thanks for your actions in saving the life of my youngest daughter" he paused for a moment as polite clapping rippled around the table leaving Naruto looking thoroughly embarrassed.

"However the truth of the matter is I have not asked you here just to thank you for that. You were instrumental in defeating the greatest threat the world has ever faced, you saved this village from Pain. For these actions alone we all owe you a great debt."

"However even more than that whether intentional or not, time and again you have rendered incredible assistance to our clan."

He gestured to Hanabi "You saved the life of my youngest daughter" Hanabi nodded at him, smiling.

He moved his hand over to Hinata "You gave my eldest the strength to stand in front of even the greatest threats" Hinata looked surprised at being mentioned but still held her father's gaze for a moment before turning to smile warmly at Naruto. "Your words, your actions, you helped me change" she whispered, proudly echoing her sentiments before the Chunin exam final, her confession in front of Pain, both so long ago now. Shy, gentle, kind, Hinata was all those things but she was not a timid little girl. She hadn't been for a very long time.

"And" at this his voice turned sombre "It cannot be forgotten the effect you had on young Neji" there was a moment of silence at that; Neji had been a profound loss to the clan. Especially after reconciling with the main house he had been one of the most beloved members, main or branch house, everyone liked Neji. He had been everything the Hyuuga were, everything they stood for, the perfect Hyuuga.

"I have never spoken of this" Hiashi continued, his voice heavy "however, during the fighting on the beach Madara's sacrilege forced me to face my own brother" everyone looked up at this, shocked from their own thoughts. "It pained him greatly having to fight me, and me to see him used like that... It was terrible... However, when he learned that his son and my daughter were fighting side by side. As comrades. As brother and sister. It gave him great peace. For your part in that Naruto, I thank you."

So saying he paused and bowed his head towards Naruto, while the members not stunned by his revelation once more gave polite applause. Naruto simply had no clue how to deal with any of this, simply sat there stunned. This was far more than he'd ever expected.

Hiashi straightened "It would not be too much I think, to say that you have in some ways changed the Hyuuga as a whole" There was a murmur of appreciation at that, but he moved on "So, know Naruto that for your actions you will always be welcome within our walls. We would be proud to consider you an ally and you will have our full support in any endeavour."

Letting the polite applause die one last time Hiashi surprised Naruto by suddenly grinning "And, as a token of our appreciation I would like to offer you a gift. One of the most precious treasures of the Hyuuga"

Naruto balked at this, so far out of his element now he just nodded. It didn't really matter what the gift was, to do anything but accept it would be rude.

The various Hyuuga clansmen nodded, apparently having already known about this.

Hinata gasped, guessing where her father was going.

Hanabi looked very curious.

"Naruto, I offer you Hanabi's hand in marriage"

"WHA!?" Naruto was panicking.

"FATHER!?" Hinata's face was ashen, she looked like she'd just been hit with a sledgehammer.

Hanabi just opened and closed her mouth wordlessly.

* * *

Naruto's mind reeled as he looked from a grinning Hiashi to a stricken Hinata to a shocked Hanabi. He was not prepared for this! He had to decline! But how!? He didn't know! The murmuring of approval and agreement or congratulations he was getting from the other clansmen across the table wasn't helping at all.

"Uh, huh, aaahhhh" he struggled for words.

"Father..." Hinata repeated again, looking at him desperately, close to tears now.

Hanabi still couldn't seem to get a word out, just looking between Naruto and Hinata. She didn't know quite what her feelings for Naruto were, he was like no other guy she'd knew. Strong, handsome, strong, kind, strong, funny... But she couldn't just marry the man her sister loved!... Could she?

Before Naruto could even begin to conjure up a reply the moment was suddenly broken by a blinding flash of light. Blinking he turned to the source to see one of the Hyuuga clansmen holding a camera

"Huh?"

"HAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHA!"

Dumbfounded he turned to the sound of the deep bellowing laughter and saw Hiashi... Hinata's father. The stoic leader of the Hyuuga. The epitome of all things Hyuuga... Splitting his sides laughing.

With that it was like a dam burst around the room, all the clansmen now joining in, some doubling over in laughter.

Seeing Hiashi laugh was surreal enough, seeing an entire room of Hyuuga laughing uproariously was unfathomable. Having no way to respond to this Naruto just stared dumbly, his only respite that Hinata and Hanabi didn't seem to be faring any better.

Finally getting control of himself Hiashi straightened "Ah... How very enjoyable...Well, I suppose I owe you an explanation... That was, a little experiment of mine"

"It's quite simple" he explained "You see, when I made to extend you an invitation I realised that I knew you only as an incredible fighter, our Jinchuriki and the Fourth's legacy. I knew of your actions to our clan and your considerable importance to my eldest daughter" he nodded a slight apology to a slowly recovering Hinata.

"But I realised I didn't know much at all about the man Uzumaki Naruto. So I have undertaken efforts to learn, to understand you. I have come to understand you are a man of peerless strength, of endless compassion and of fierce determination... However I also came to understand you are a great lover of pranks! And so, in an effort to further understand you, I thought I would play a small prank myself"

He smiled again, looking quite proud "My first ever prank actually. And, how was it Ko?" he turned to the Hyuuga Naruto had seen holding the camera.

"As expected, it was masterful Hiashi-sama" Ko answered "Simple, yet elegant. I was able to get a great picture of their reactions; no doubt it will be a memorable photo."

"Perfect. Perhaps I shall hang it on my wall to commemorate this" Hiashi looked thoughtful.

"Wow.." Naruto's head was spinning, finally catching up. The head of the Hyuuga clan had just pranked him... He had envisioned a hundred scenarios that could play out tonight. That was not one of them.

* * *

Later that night after the rest of the meal had wound down and after bidding goodnight to Hanabi, Hinata had offered to show him around the Hyuuga compound.

It was a warm moonlit night so they were spending the time simply strolling around, enjoying each other's company. Mostly they were walking in a comfortable silence, sometimes interrupted by Naruto joking or Hinata pointing out important clan locations.

"Sorry again about my father" Hinata quietly apologised thinking back to his actions once more "I just... I never would have expected something like that..."

Naruto laughed it off "that's what made it work I guess! He did a good job" he was suitably impressed with the man. "Someone like him doing something like that. Well! Just shows how influential I am!" he boasted

"Mhmm" Hinata quietly agreed, walking close to Naruto as she led him through the Hyuuga gardens.

Still, thinking of Hiashi also led him to think of the man's other words that night, of the favours Naruto had unthinkingly performed for the clan already. Unable to help himself he looked over at Hinata as she ran her hands across some of the flowers, thinking of the words said about her.

He'd given her strength; he'd helped her change herself.

He thought again of Pain, where Hinata had confirmed her changes, her determination, of Hinata's words to him. Of Hinata loving him.

He didn't think about it often enough he considered slightly guiltily. It was hard to accept, someone just loving him for being him, it was too easy. He always felt like he should have to earn her love... He hadn't been sure how to react to someone just loving him.

Even now he still struggled with the idea of someone loving him, a remainder of his young days where no-one had, where for more than 16 years he'd never been told he was loved a single time. It was a small part of him that he rarely acknowledged, but, on this quiet moonlit night, he didn't have any other distractions, no other worries, no other obligations. Just him and... Hinata.

Hinata. The woman who loved him, one of the nicest woman he'd ever met, who wanted to be with him... And still he had no answer for her.

He'd asked for time, he'd asked to get to know her. She'd happily agreed and it'd been great! He'd loved getting closer to her, before he'd even noticed she'd become one of his absolute most precious people.

Yet, did he _love_ her? It would be so easy to just say yes, to just be with her. But he didn't know, he couldn't figure it out. He couldn't go out with her until he knew, he cared about her too much to do that to her. Hinata deserved someone who loved her.

He sighed.

When he was a kid he'd been sure he loved Sakura. Nowadays he couldn't tell if he loved her like that or if he just thought of her like a sister. It was all too confusing.

He'd wracked his brain over it time and again. He'd put it off time and again. He'd even asked Baa-chan about it once. Nothing had helped. He couldn't work it out.

"You're very quiet Naruto-kun? Are you okay?" Hinata's soft voice broke him out of her thoughts.

He looked over at her again, truly looking at her for the first time all night. Seeing the effort she'd gone to, dressing up for the occasion, for him. To thank him. To celebrate his promotion. It was just a light amount but he didn't know if he'd ever seen Hinata with makeup on before... He suddenly realised how beautiful she looked standing in the moonlight.

He'd always thought he was attracted to girls like Sakura. Someone who never doubted themselves. A strong willed, assertive woman. Someone who was in many ways as loud as him. Someone with a sexy body and no qualms about showing it off, who would wear tight shorts and a small vest.

And yet, looking at her smiling at him in the moonlight, it was impossible to deny his attraction to Hinata. Someone who'd been weak and hated themselves for it. Someone who'd struggled for acknowledgement, who'd worked hard. Probably the quietest kunoichi in the village, yet with an unbreaking will just the same. Someone who always wore layers and covered their body, who never dressed sexy... Yet, instead was beautiful.

Hinata just looked back at him, she wasn't sure what was going on but Naruto was standing there staring at her. Smiling at her... Her heart was beating like crazy, she didn't think Naruto had ever just looked at her like that.

And suddenly Naruto smiled his true smile. A Cheeky, almost rude grin.

Because Naruto had figured it out.

He'd spent so long asking himself the question, so long looking for answers, so long trying to think out an answer, so long wondering _'Did he love Hinata. Could he love Hinata?'_

Over a year thinking, pondering, wondering, questioning... What a waste of time! That wasn't how he worked!

Naruto didn't think things out, he didn't act with his head!

He acted with his heart. His head was running itself in circles but he suddenly knew if he asked his heart would know the answer in an instant.

"Hey... Hinata..." he stepped closer to her

"Yes..." she looked up at him blushing deeply. He was moving closer to her, her emotions were running the gamut from excitement, to joy, to hope, even to fear of disappointment.

"..." He opened his mouth and searched for words, nothing came. He'd never been in this situation before, he had no idea what to say.

Naruto right to the core, was a man of action.

And so, without a word, he cupped her face in his hands, leant down and brought his lips to hers.

It was a brief kiss, just a moment. His first ever with a girl. Her first ever.

And in that moment Naruto realised what he should have known so long ago, that the warm feeling he got from being with Hinata wasn't the feeling of being loved. It was the feeling of loving.

"I'm such a fool" he whispered starting to lean in again.

Hinata didn't care, she was already wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into her this time.

**The End.**

* * *

**A/N**: Wow, so buying Dark Souls while halfway through this chapter was a terrible idea. I wanted to get this out by Saturday morning but I still hadn't finished by Friday evening.

So I've been up all night now finishing the story! I finished writing it by 7am and finished editing it by midday. So, wow. That's a long night spent writing.

Regardless, hope everyone enjoyed the ride!

Let me just say, OH GOD I AM NEVER WRITING KILLER B AGAIN. Or if I do, he's going to have strained his voice and be unable to speak.

I'm sure there's a trick to it or something but goddamn he is hard to write. Hope no-one cringed too badly at the rhymes I was able to come up with.

Other than that, it's funny how much the story changed as I planned it out. Originally it was going to be completely sans pairings, then the newer chapters with Hinata came out. She was already my favourite kunoichi, after that I to give her something! So I decided to just imply a NaruHina pairing in the first Omake... But then I gave her a few scenes in the story too and before I knew it she and Hanabi had a large part in the whole enterprise and two Omakes!

I also ended up breaking my own decision and including a team of "Super Genin" just because I thought it'd be a laugh to see the standard OC Stupidly powerful Genin team get absolutely stomped.

If you were worried about that at all, I'm very very conservative when it comes to OC's, I put literally zero effort in any of them. Their names (they do have names actually, I just never got to use them) were from hitting a "Random Japanese name generator" three times and their descriptions were from opening up a handful of images from a "Naruto OC" google image search then stealing bits and pieces from that.

I just hate most OC's in general. I hate how every OC has the Rasengan (how?), every one of them has Nature manipulation (even though it's meant to be a rare skill), every one of them has a tonne of Jutsu even though most characters (especially Genin) only know a handful and every one of them has a ridiculously OP bloodline. So writing a team that hits some of those points and got stomped amused me.

As for the Hanabi love interest red herring, I sort'a wanted to do more with that. Mostly I wanted it to just be a silly childish crush for her. She's grown up in a house where Power and Strength are important ("The Hyuuga are Konoha's strongest!") and to her seeing someone more powerful than even her father, nevermind him being so different from any of the other men she interacts with, being Familiar, friendly, etc just took her by surprise and enthralled her slightly.

Eventually there just wasn't really a good space to really get into it. Perhaps I'll explore that in another story!


End file.
